


White Harmony

by Scifiwriter00



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Eventual Smut, F/M, FerrisWheelShipping, Forbidden Love, Non-Graphic Smut, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scifiwriter00/pseuds/Scifiwriter00
Summary: Warning is for depiction of violence and implicit smut.Touko has had a rocky life relocating from different cities due to the target planted on her head for her fathers job as head of The White Dragon, the biggest Yakuza group in all Unova. After yet another atempt at her life and since his daughter is already marriageable Jacob White decides it would be best for her to return to Castelia city, a Yakuza capital to find her a suitable match. Touko is not at all pleased by this and decides to start taking things into her own hands.Across the city, N Harmonia is trying his best to please his father by being a good heir to the Harmony Yakuza, the man has been trying to seize power from The White Dragon for as long as N can remember and the arrival of Jacobs only daughter might just be the piece his father needed. The easy way might be to offer his son as a potential husband, but Ghetsis prefers chaos over order.
Relationships: N | Natural Harmonia Gropius & Touko | Hilda, N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touko | Hilda
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Her Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> This is a revamped version of a fic I had up in wattpad and will be taking down in a few days. I'm very excited to be able to share this work with everyone and giving it a proper ending, I will be updating once a week untill I reach the point where I stopped writing some years ago, depending on my work schedule I will try to post at least twice a month. 
> 
> There will be mentioning of sex because I believe it's part of any persons life, I won't be writting graphic scenes simply because I am not good at it, if you do find sexul themes to be too much I promise to not leave important plot points in between them so you can just skim over. That being said I humbly offer you White Harmony.
> 
> Also for updates on when I will be posting and possible peeks at nee chapters follow me on twitter @Scifiwrit00

Touko ponders on the first time she was aware of an attempt at her life.

She was 5 years old and after much begging she had finally convinced her father to let her enroll in preschool, her older brother, Touya, had a private tutor at home but she wanted to go to a real school like the ones she saw on tv and after much bargain her father had finally conceded. Her first day had ended with two deaths and multiple injuries, she learned the hard way that little girls born into Yakuza groups were not rewarded with normal lives.

Touko didn’t remember the details of that first incident, they had blurred over after thirteen years, but she remembers what she felt, the sheer terror. She remembered this so well because over the following weeks it turned into a recurring emotion for her. Her parents never mentioned her returning to school, and she knew better than to ask but it seemed like she wasn’t able to leave their household without someone trying to kill her, no more visits to friends or family, no more zoo trips, no more park outings. She realizes now that from a young age she had been confined to a cage.

Touko didn’t remember how long she spent locked up in that house before the first relocation, her father was careful to always keep her entertained so she wouldn’t want to leave. There was always someone watching over her, she had plenty of toys and if she asked very nicely, she could even get her brother to play with her even if he wasn’t fond of her games, he was always busy doing something with their father. Still, he was a good older brother to her, he was always there when she needed him. He was there on the sour day her parents realized she wasn’t safe inside their own home. It was the first time she had seen her big brother use a gun. She was used to seeing guns of course, her father had one, her mother had one, and all the men and women who hung around her parents had one, her parents would never let her hold the item though “You’ll get one when you’re ready” her mother had promised, but at 5 she had never seen her brother with one, and she certainly had never seen what it could do up close. Those were the thoughts she chose to focus on, rather than the pair of hands on her neck cutting her air supply short, rather than the body of her nana that had fallen lifeless over her, rather than the pool of blood forming around her. She always chose to focus on the little things, it made things easier to process.

That was when the moving had started, only for her mother and herself though, her father and Touya would stay behind at home, as leader of The White Dragon group and its heir respectively they had to be in Castelia city to keep business running smoothly.

Now, at eighteen her mother and her were staying in a small house in a town called Nuvema, she had liked their previous location in Striaton city better. She had started attending school again and had her eyes set on Striation’s top high school before her father had ordered to relocate. She’d had many plans for her high school years in Striaton but once again her father was showing her how little control she had over her own life. Three years later she was stuck getting homeschooled by her mother, since Nuvema was so small and didn’t have a school of its own.

She pretends she doesn’t know when her resentment had appeared, or realized when it started to grow, still it was there now. It hung heavy in her heart whenever she saw people her age around town, visiting their families for the holidays or weekends from studying in the big cities. She would come back from her run early those days “Take it out on the punching bag” her mother would say, and she would do just that. Training seemed to become easier when she was feeling angry. But it wasn’t all about commodity for her, sure she was pissed at all the moving, strict rules and excessive combat training but she also hated what her family stud for, the damage it caused to society.

Her mother was careful to never show her the news, no tv, no radio, no cellphones or laptops for her but she knew, while living in the city she had been exposed to it all outside her home, she knew what her father did, a part of herself was disappointed it took her so long to figure things out and she was sickened by it.

When she’d turned to her mother for help, she had let her down

“Some things are rooted too deep to change them”

“Has someone ever tried to?” _Did you try to?_

“Everybody here is looking out for themselves Touko”

She never brought it up again, but the real breaking point was when a few days later her father arrived in Striaton accompanied by a woman with skin covered in ink “It’s time for you to receive your brand” he’d said. She’d been fifteen and the pain in her stomach where the needle had drawn had stayed with her for weeks. After that her mother and her were relocated to Nuvema town and even though she could see the sky and feel fresh air in her face that was when she realized she was in a cage.

“Don’t think you can leave Touko” her mother had said over dinner one day, she _was_ planning on leaving and it scared Touko how her mother had figured it out when she hadn’t even had a chance to prepare anything “Why would I leave?” she’d answered instead but her mother carried on as if not listening to her daughter “Don’t forget why we’re here Touko, if you leave we won’t be the only ones looking for you, and that mark on your stomach won’t make hiding easy” Touko didn’t respond to that, in that moment she had felt like a child again, defenseless and ignorant.

So, she stayed in her cage, she stayed for three years to today and as she pretends not to notice the man discreetly following her through her jogging path she thinks on all these things. It’s the third time this week, he hasn’t done anything to her to warrant aggression, he could just be your usual creep and _that_ she could deal with on her own. As she debates on whether she should tell her mother or not she thinks of all the events that caused her to relocate, that caused her life to be a mess, of the reason behind them. Where would they go after Nuvema? Her eighteenth birthday had been a few days ago and her father had mentioned finding her a good husband in Castelia. She was adamant to admit she had become accustomed to her cage but she wasn’t fond of the idea of marriage either; her mother had sometimes mentioned it at home but Touko never thought too seriously on it until now. Touko had never thought Nuvema would be the last place her mother and her would live in before heading back home, the idea of returning home had never crossed her mind before.

She finishes her jog, the man tailing her had taken a different path a few houses back but she’s sure if she were to take a look around at night, she’d find him again. She steps into her house and greets her mother before heading up to wash the sweat off. When she comes down, dinner is already served.

“Someone’s been following you” her mother says as she takes a bite of her food, Touko cringes internally, she was hoping to stretch her time in Nuvema a bit more, especially if what awaited her in Castelia was an arranged marriage to a stranger “I’m still not sure if he’s a threat or just a creep” she lies, she knows the guy isn’t a creep, she’d given him some openings today, this man was just an observer, for how long he’d stay that way she didn’t know “Take care of him tomorrow, you know we can never be too careful”.

The next day the man is no longer following her, she searches as discreetly as she can for him around town but there is no sign of him, she would like to believe he’d been someone visiting relatives but her mother had taught her better than that. Had he realized he’d been discovered? She thought she had caught up with him fast enough but maybe he’d been tailing her for longer now. If that were the case then it meant he’d collected enough information and was now reporting back to whomever sent him, she has to tell her mother.

When she reports her findings, her mother seems to go arrive at the same conclusion as her, she follows her mother as she reaches for the old phone on the kitchen wall, their only way of communicating with her father “Can we wait for a few days?” Touko asks her, without meaning too she lets her hopelessness leak into her tone. Her mother was not a cold person, she had cared and taught Touko everything she knew, but her duty as a Yakuza member seemed to always come first “You know we can’t” her mother answered to her silent plea.

Her father arranged for them to be picked up sometime the following week, which is why the sound of her door opening in the middle of her sleep wakes her up, she shifts her gaze to the clock in her wall, it reads a quarter past midnight. She stays still as footsteps approach her bed, they don’t seem to be trying to stay quiet, she prepares to lounge for the knife hidden in her nightstand when the trespasser speaks “Touko, I know you’re awake” a gasp escapes her lips, she knows that voice. In an instant she throws the covers away and turns to look at her brother “Touya” she practically jumps off her bed to give her brother a hug “I missed you too little white” he returns her hug. It had been a while since she had seen her brother last, three years older than her and a head taller, The White Dragon heir was nothing like their father.

Touya was kind and soft-spoken, whenever he visited her he would make sure to spend as much time with her as possible. Sometimes she worried the Yakuza would eat him alive, he was too good for that kind of life, it didn’t matter that their father drilled him with Yakuza training and grooming, Touya had remained the same to her through the years. Which is why she feels this Touya alien when he pulls away from their embrace. Her protest dies in her mouth when she sees the worried look in his eyes, it breaks her heart “We have to leave, get your bag” Touko can’t see much of his face in the dark but the concern in his voice matches the look he gives her, so she nods and heads to her closet to get a jacket to wear over her pajamas and her prepacked emergency bag.

“I thought we were leaving sometime next week” she says while following Touya out of her room and down the stairs, from the living room she can hear the voices of her mother and father “Something came up and we had reasons to believe your phone might be bugged” Touya explains to her without looking back “Father will explain more on the way to Castelia” it might be that her brain is still jumbled from being woken up in the middle of the night but she decides not to ask more questions.

Once downstairs she sees her father and brother aren’t alone, no lights were on but her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark. Her mother was dressed similarly to her, one of her long coats thrown over her pajamas and her father holding what she knew was her emergency suitcase. There were three more people to her father’s side, bodyguards she had to assume.

When their eyes meet her father seems relieved, he then turns to the men in the living room “Time to go” he says in his signature low tenure. She hurries out the house with her brother behind her to where a black van is parked a few feet away from the house. They climb on to the vehicle, her mother, brother, father, herself and two of the men that had been in her home. The third man steps into the passenger seat next to the driver and with a silent nod instructs him to drive away.

"What’s going on Jacob?" her mother’s tense voice was first to break the silence. Touko doesn’t know her father too well, while staying in Striaton city they had visited shortly for business with the local gangs but he had barely spoken to her, the longest interaction she can remember is him watching over her while her brand was being inked into her skin. He seemed like the kind of man to have a short fuse, she pictured all Yakuza leaders that way but right now he appeared to be calm and collected. He gestures to the man next to the driver for something and he is handed a cream-colored envelope “We received this yesterday, moments before your call” he handed the envelope to her mother and Touko leans closer to get a better look. Out of the envelope her mother pulls out some pictures, they are of her mother and her. Touko’s suspicions were right, whoever had been tailing her had been in town for more time than she’d thought. They weren’t risky photos, mainly her and her mother doing menial tasks around their home or going out shopping to the local market but it had been enough for her father to come all the way from Castelia in such short notice.

Touko chances a look at her mother, her lips are pursed as she scans the pictures in her hand “The pictures were the only thing in the envelope” her father explains “It’s clearly a threat to you, and by extension to me” she turns to her father wondering what is next for her “I was planning on bringing you back over the summer but this changes our things slightly” he’s addressing her now and she knows why “We’re going back to Castelia?” Touko asks just to make the implications sink into her completely, this time her brother answers “You’re coming home little white” he says with a smile that reaches his eyes, of course Touya wouldn’t want to alarm her right away, he must want her to think on all the time they could spend together now, he always said there was always something fun to do in Castelia city. But her fight is not with him, she returns her gaze to her father.

“Why do we have to go back to Castelia? Can’t we stay somewhere else until the summer?” she can tell her words wound Touya, but she doubts she’ll have chance to talk to her father face to face like this again. He gives her mother a look before turning back to her

“No point in delaying the inevitable Touko” he answers, she’s not sure if she should appreciate his honesty on the matter.

“I’m not going through with it” she spits the words with venom, her hands balling into fists but her father does not even flinch “I won’t let you use me as a bargain chip” He holds her glare like a man who is used to being in the receiving end of many of those.

“You don’t have a say in the matter” he says sternly “but if having this discussion is something you need we can talk _tomorrow_ “

She is ready to protest but her mother stops her by placing a hand over her own and giving it a squeeze. It isn’t meant as reassurance, it’s a warning to let the subject drop, a reminder that if she steps out of the organizations shadow, she would be an easy pick to whomever was trying to kill her. Once again, she is a hostage to her own family.

They are silent for the remainder of the drive to Castelia city; at some point she drifts to sleep and is woken up by Touya nudging her shoulder "Touko" he whispers her name "Touko we're here".

Her eyes flutter open and slowly adjust to the light pouring from the van’s door, her parents are already out, she seems to be the only one left inside. Touya helps her out of the van, and she slowly starts taking in her surroundings, she quickly realizes they are not in her old home. They were inside the parking lot of a building, white light from the ceiling illuminating the concrete space in an ominous way, her father’s bodyguards were sprawled in different directions guarding the surrounding area while her parents talked with two new people.

As they approach the group Touko recognizes the newcomers as Cheren and his mother, she had met them while living in Striaton city, his parents were both members of The White Dragon and for that reason she had been allowed to make friends with him, they had attended school together for a short time before she moved to Nuvema but unlike her he’d always showed his adoration for the Yakuza.

“Touko, I believe you remember Cheren Thompson” her father said when they joined the group “Nice to see you again” she greets him, Cheren nods in recognition “Likewise” Touko remembers him being a quiet type, it had taken him some time to warm up to her the first time they met “You will be staying with him and his mother for the time being” to this she turned in alarm to her father “Why?” she immediately asks doing her best to keep her voice low and holding her jacket closer to herself. She has nothing against Cheren personally and she’s definitely not afraid of him but she was hoping to be able to sleep in her own home, even if she wasn’t sure to call it a home anymore “Whoever is threatening you could expect us to take you home, this is a better option” Touya explains in a soothing voice “Don’t worry, we’ll see each other tomorrow to settle things, this is only temporary” he reassures her with a small smile. She turns to her mother, her expression unreadable, then to Cheren, he purses his lips as if saying it wasn’t a choice for him either, she knows it wasn’t. They all look tired; she’s tired herself and it seems like the subject is not up for discussion “Alright then” she mumbles.

Her mother hands over her bag and she says her goodbyes, as her family gets back inside the van Cheren and his mother usher her towards an elevator “Come on Touko, its risky to stay outside” the woman calls her softly. She follows the pair into the elevator, the last thing she hears before the doors close is the van driving away.

The ride up was silent, Touko analyzed what her hosts were wearing, it looked like they had been woken up by surprise just like her. Their place wasn’t anything flashy, it had a living room and a small dining room next to a medium kitchen, a hallway stretched behind it and that’s where her hosts were headed “The guest room is ready for you Touko” Mrs. Thompson says pointing to said room “Cheren’s room is across the hall, and my husbands and mine is at the end, you have your own bathroom if you’d like to take a shower and I left some of my clothes if you’d like to change” Touko forces herself to smile “Thank you" she says bowing her head slightly, the least she could do was be polite. The woman smiles kindly "Don't worry about it, after all, my husband and your father are very close friends".

She tries to sleep; she really does but it looks like she wasn’t as tired as she thought she was. She turns to look at the digital clock in the nightstand next to her for what it seems to be the third time and sighs, its almost 4 a.m. she knew she had to get some rest but her brain was no cooperating with her. She silently gets out of bed and heads to the door, carefully she opens the door and steps into the deserted hallway. She knew she shouldn’t snoop around other people’s apartments but that was not her intention, she walks towards the living room and spots a glass door that led to a small balcony. She just wants to take a peek at her new cage.

She slides the glass door open and steps out to be greeted by the cold night air, it hits her and as a shiver runs up her bare legs and to her spine, she welcomes it with open arms. It had been a while since she’d been so far up, she walks towards the edge and takes a look at the city she was born in.

Castelia city is a beautiful place at night, unlike Nuvema there were buildings as far as the eye could see, a concrete jungle of sorts, and instead of a night sky filled with stars she gazed at the neon signs and apartment lights of vibrant colors, it reminded her of Christmas lights. If her situation was any different, she would love to live in this city.

"What are you doing out here?"

Cheren’s voice startles her and as she turns to respond she has to holds back a scream as she finds herself looking into the barrel of a gun. She evens out her breaths and then glares at the black-haired boy “What the fuck is this for?” Cheren lowers the gun and tucks it into his pants “You shouldn't be out here" he says approaching her “Someone could hit you with a rifle from anywhere" he gestures to the buildings surrounding them to emphasize his point.

She rolls her eyes, it looks like he wouldn’t need to warm up to her again “Was pointing me with a gun necessary to get that lesson across?” she mumbles leaning back against the railing, Cheren’s mouth twitches trying to hold back a smile and crosses his arms trying to give a stern appearance “I see you’ve worked on that smart mouth of yours” he jokes “And here I was thinking I was going to have to annoy you into talking to me again” she mused.

She and Cheren hadn’t been exactly close in Striaton, their friendship had been the result of being the only two kids in a closed environment but once they’d hit puberty their childish friendship had evolved into a comfortable companionship, she was aware of his plans to get his Yakuza brand the moment he turned eighteen to cement his alliance and he was there when the idea of running away from the family had formed in her brain but both of them were desperate enough for a connection to someone who could relate to their situation they both chose to overlook these differences.

He chuckles “I wouldn’t want to go through that again”

“Boo, you seem to be as boring as ever” she teases turning back to the skyline.

“I will admit I’m a bit of a nerd still but I’m sure you will find me the right amount of entertaining” he pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and joins her in the railing before offering one, she declines, he shrugs and lights his own _the smoking is new_ she thinks, but is not surprised.

“Are we really in danger of being shot out here?” she asks, Cheren shrugs “No one knows you’re here yet, I just wanted to give you a scare” he responds then he turns to her “So what have you been up to? Last time we saw each other you were on the verge of an identity crisis because you’d realized daddy was a bad guy” She can hear the silent question from in between the lines _Are you still against our organization?_

“My father asked you to do some digging?” she smiles warmly at him, Cheren was only doing his job

“He really shouldn’t underestimate you” he muses “Can’t blame me for trying though, just doing my job as a white dragon”

“I can’t” she conceded, she is sure somewhere underneath his clothes there was a white serpent like dragon tattoo much like hers inked into his skin “But calling it an identity crisis seems like a stretch”

“Please, they had to take you to a town in the middle of nowhere to keep you from doing anything stupid” he takes a long drag from his cigarette before he continues “You were an overexcited teenager with the delusion that you could change a century old organization with your own hands”

Touko isn’t sure anymore if he was teasing or blatantly making fun of her ideals “What happened to that girl?” a part of her wants to answer she is still that girl, but her smarter side knows he’s still fishing for information to give back to her father and she wasn’t about to tell him she still thought of those plans to this day, that she’s as against her father as he remembers. In an ideal world she would’ve left home and started her own revolution but he was right, they took her to Nuvema so she couldn’t do anything, her own mother acting as guard and the threat to her life being used as a cage to keep her put, her own dragon tattoo had been used to cement that fear.

“You can tell my father I learned my lesson” she mumbles.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you’re still dreaming of overthrowing caught him starring at her with what could pass as a sincere smile, she chooses not to answer to that “He just wants to know how much of a fight I’ll put into an arranged marriage” Cheren doesn’t deny it “You’ve changed Touko” he says instead.

“Not really”

“You’ve matured” he corrects himself and stands from his spot next to her to put out his cigarette, Touko turns her back on the railing to look at him “That I can agree with”. He walks up to her, he’s close enough to smell the leftover tabaco “I have a proposition for you” he says placing both arms in each side of her over the rail successfully trapping her, she could feel her cheeks heat up, one of the downsides of being separated from the rest of the world was she’d had no experience with the opposite gender.

Still, she kept herself on check “Now what do you think _you’re_ doing?” she mutters placing her hands on his chest to stop him from leaning in further. The question seemed to catch him by surprised “I know your father is searching for a match for you” Touko knows exactly where this is going “I’m sure the last thing you want is to get paired up with a stranger you barely know”

“And you think _you’re_ the better choice?” she couldn’t help the mocking tone in her voice, a smirk adorns his face then “If you take me at least you’d have a say in what happens in your life for once” she hates that he’s right “besides, by your reaction I can tell we can make things work”

“Don’t confuse me panicking over you invading my personal space for a crush Cheren” she counters, “Besides, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there” she tells him, he doesn’t look convinced “That might be sooner than you think, just know you’ll always have my option up for pick but if you need more convincing…” he softly places one hand on her cheek, and she’s frozen in the moment “I can prove to you we _do_ work well together”.

The kiss is a messy thing, all first things are, but while the kiss isn’t outright unpleasant it does spark something in her mind. Cheren is right about her not having a say in her life, even now she knows that what he is offering is only the illusion of having a choice. She wouldn’t allow things to stay that way, in that moment she decides moving to Castelia isn’t the end for her and it won’t be another chapter of living in a cage, its time she took the reigns of her life back, starting with this.

She can feel Cheren become tense when she grabs him by the collar to deepen the kiss, but she has to stifle a laugh when she asks him to take her to his room and he turns beat red “Are you serious?” he asks. Maybe it’s her curiosity, maybe it’s her way of testing herself, of rebelling against her father, because she knew the Yakuza were an old organization and still held purity in unmarried women in a high standard but she feels it’s the right way to start this new chapter in her life, _her_ chapter. 

So they go to Cheren’s room and when she undresses Cheren can barely look at her, and once she lays on his bed with him on top of her, he asks again “Are you sure?” And she is sure, it’s the first time she gets to choose something for herself and she’s nervous and a bit scared but she trusts him “I’m sure”.

They don’t take long to finish, Cheren goes first which makes sense, she’s too sore to feel anything good at the moment but once he’s done he helps her get her release. They lay awake for some minutes “Does this mean you’re taking me on my offer?” he finally asks, his tone tells her he’s genuinely asking. To this she gets up and starts putting her clothe back on, he doesn’t try to stop her "This" she says motioning to both of them before leaving "Is not happening" she concludes, he lifts himself with his elbows and smiles, this one looks genuine “You really have changed” she can’t help smiling back at him “I’ve matured” she corrects him “I’ll see you in a few hours” she says before closing the door behind her.

Across the city, Ghetsis’s phone buzzes signaling he has received a new message, he lazily holds his phone up to read it.

**Done, I’ll send my men to pick up the package tomorrow night.**

Ghetsis smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this is not a Cheren x Touko fic, I just felt like it was important to get "The first time" out of the way. I don't mind the "magical first time" trope but as one grows old you realize its unrealistic so wanted to add that to my story and Cheren seemed like the right person to do it with. 
> 
> To know when I'll be updating next and maybe previews of next chapters find me on twitter as @scifiwri00


	2. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer chapter but don't get used to it, hope it compensates the tardiness also there were important things that needed fixing in order to have the story make sense. I present to you, White Harmony chapter two.

Touko had never ridden a motorcycle before, so she is scared to death and holding Cheren as tight as she can while he zooms through Castelia’s morning traffic "Slow down!" she yells hoping he can hear her through their helmets and the air. She feels his shoulders shake with laughter "I told you to hold tight!" She grits her teeth _at least he can hear me_ she was sure he was doing it just to spite her. Still, she presses herself to his back and tightens her grip around his chest. "Hey watch where you're going!" A man yells after Cheren almost runs over his foot, she’ll call him out for that when the ride is over. It’s Monday already, less than a week after arriving to Castelia and they were on their way to Castelia prep, Cheren’s old high school.

True to his word her father had called the morning after with instructions to take her to meet with him. Touko knew her father was only indulging her, there was no changing his mind on finding her a match but she was over asking for things nicely. Her goal for the meeting was buying time for herself, she wouldn’t be able to formulate a good plan if her father kept pushing a marriage agenda on her.

“I want to finish school first” she’d told him in the empty tea room of her old home. It was a simple request, nothing and even if he could see his reasoning behind it she assumed he would let it go “You know what happened las time we tried enrolling you in school here in Castelia” of course she remembered “Things are different now” she said “I just want a last chance to feel normal before you tie me down” can’t seem too complacent, Jacob White took his time thinking about her request “You don’t deserve a last wish” he’d finally said “Not with how much problems you cause, but I will grant you this, you can’t say I’m not a lenient father” Touko bowed down to the floor respectfully and forcing herself not to smile to much “Thank you, father” she knew how to behave herself properly, her smart mouth was a choice.

The days that followed were less eventful, Cheren was appointed as her bodyguard, they were counting on her being back in Castelia to be a secret but rumors were already starting. Her father was still not comfortable with her coming back to live in the main house, different people came and left, even members of different groups visited often and so he deemed it necessary for Touko to stay in the Thompsons apartment for the time being.

Finally, Cheren stops at the school’s entrance and kills the engine, he takes of his blue helmet and she takes of the white one he’d given her that morning. The place is nothing too flashy, the main building is placed in the middle of a vast courtyard, walls of red bricks separating it from the street. The students walking by give them curious glances, all of them sporting the institutions uniform. She inspects herself for a moment, pale navy-blue skirt, matching tie, white blouse, black shoes and long white socks. It had been a while since she’d worn a skirt.

"A lot of young Yakuza members attend this school" he explains “It’s supposed to be deemed as neutral ground but you should still be wary” Touko nods getting her bag ready, she tries to shake her nerves off but Cheren’s warning is not helping. She tries reminding herself this is only to buy time for herself, she doesn’t really want to attend school but deep down there is a part of her that still craves some normalcy “Anyone I should stay away from?” she asks half joking, Cheren shrugs “Everyone really, I’ll be here waiting for you before classes end” he then catches something behind her and waves “I can’t follow you inside but she can help you out” Touko turns to look back to where Cheren is pointing. A brown-haired girl is quickly making her way towards them from inside the school "Hey Cheren!" she greets once she’s close enough, Cheren offers a small smile "Good morning Kotone" he answers her, if he’s smiling they must be close, the girl turns to Touko and leans in "Oooh who is she? Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asks teasingly "I'm Touko" she says extending her hand which the girl takes gladly "Kotone, a pleasure to meet you” she says. “Cheren doesn’t have many friends; how do you know each other?” Kotone asks pointing between her and Cheren “She’s Touya’s sister” Cheren interjects, something shifts in Kotone’s eyes and she regards Touko carefully “I didn’t know he had a sister” Cheren then turns to Touko “Kotone here is the heir to the Golden Heart group” but Kotone interrupts “Won’t be for long though, I’m set to marry someone after graduation” she says showing off a ring in her hand. It’s a beautiful silver ring with a small yellow jewel, Touko can’t help the look of pity crossing her face, this is what awaited her if she didn’t leave soon “Oh don’t worry Touko, he’s nice” Touko immediately schools her expression, a light blush forming in her cheeks “We’ve known each other for some time now and I’m actually looking forward to it” Touko smiles sheepishly, it had been rude of her to make that face “Sorry, I’m just not used to the idea yet” Kotone doesn’t seem to take it too personal and laughs it off “No worries, we should get going though, classes are about to start” she can almost hear a melody from the way Kotone speaks “I’ll be here when you’re done” Cheren tells her, already putting his helmet back on “I’ll see you later then” she bids him goodbye.

Kotone guides Touko to her classroom “Looks like we’re not in the same class” she mumbles, a pout starting to form on her lips but quickly recovers “Don’t worry, I’ll come look for you at lunch so we can get to know each other better” she shakes Touko’s hand and scurries off to what Touko assumes is her own classroom. Kotone seems to be a warm person, Touko had never met a Yakuza girl before and if Cheren trusted this girl it meant she was loyal to the Yakuza so she wouldn’t be of much help in Touko’s plan to escape. And yet, similar to how she and Cheren had become friends, she longed to get to know this person even if just for the comfort of a human relationship.

Before she knows it the bell signaling for lunch time rings, she remembers Kotone telling her to wait in her classroom and is pleasantly surprised when said girl appears in the doorway calling her over. The hallways are crowded, people mingling outside but most heading to the cafeteria or school courtyards to have an outdoor lunch. “Bianca is saving us seats in the cafeteria” Kotone says excitedly “You’ll love her, she’s the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet and is super smart. If you need any help with school work she’s the first person you should ask” Touko can’t help the feeling of warmness spreading in her heart, this is the kind of life she wants “I do have to warn you though, she’s not… like us” Kotone’s tone lowers at the last part and Touko understand what she’s is hinting at “Noted” she says nodding slowly and Kotone beams.

The cafeteria is wide space with low ceiling, it wasn’t too full so Kotone spots Bianca rather quickly after buying their respective food. Touko follows her new friend to a table near a window where a girl is already waiting "Bianca, this is Touko, Touko this is Bianca" Kotone makes quick introductions before plopping next to the blond girl.

"Touko, that is such a pretty name" Bianca says motioning her to sit, Touko does so across from her, she seems to have a bubbly personality like Kotone’s “I believe it stands for ‘the voice in your heart ‘, your parents must love you very much to give you such a name” Touko smiles nervously “I think my mom picked my name from an old story, I’m not sure she knew what it meant” Bianca giggles “Well, that’s still poetic in its own way” Touko wants to compliment Bianca too but the girl is not done talking “So where are you from?" She asks as she unpacks her lunch box, it was neatly organized and had a cute presentation, Touko wonders if she did it herself.

"I was born here but until recently I was living in Nuvema town" it’s just enough information to get a conversation going and it seems to satisfy Bianca "Got any boyfriend back home?" She asks in a nonchalant way “Bianca you sly girl, we agreed to not mention it” Kotone interrupts with a pout, then turns to Touko “Bianca has had a crush on Cheren for what if feels like ages now so you can imagine her reaction when I told her he dropped you off and is picking you up after class” Touko forces herself to laugh to hide her own panic at the new information and is glad Bianca is too focused nagging Kotone for outing her to notice. It would probably be best if she didn’t mention sleeping with Cheren a few nights back “Cheren is just doing my dad a favor by taking care of me” she explains, her and Cheren hadn’t talked about what they’d done and she knows he’s just giving her some time to settle in the city before bringing the subject up, he did say his offer would always be standing “Trust me, we’re just friends” she’s not sure if her words reassure Bianca in any way but they promptly change the subject.

When classes are finally done it is late afternoon and Kotone is once again at her door waving to get Touko’s attention, she giggles and approaches the girl in the hallway “I’m sorry but I have to ask. Did Cheren ask you to baby sit me while he’s not around?” she asks only half joking but the brunette pouts “Excuse me, I’m not Cheren’s errand girl, I just think you could use company on your first day” Touko smiles at her cute expression, _there’s that warm feeling again_ “Alright, I’m sorry”. The pair starts walking towards the exit when she realizes Bianca is nowhere to be seen “Where’s Bianca?”

“Oh, she usually leaves early to help her mom in their lab, maybe you’ve heard of her, professor Juniper?” Touko couldn’t say she had so she shook her head but Kotone just shrugs “She’s this amazing scientist, works wonders in the medical field” Kotone explains as they step outside the building “Ah it looks like my ride is here” she says pointing towards a silver car parked across the street from the school entrance “C’mon, Cheren must be around too” Touko nods “Maybe he and Silver are catching up, it’s been a while sinc-” a loud bang makes them stop short on their tracks. It comes from inside the school building, probably some corridors back from where they came from. The few students that still remained inside hurry to leave the scene as if they haven’t heard a thing. Touko turns to Kotone to ask about the noise but she seems to share the opinion of those fleeing, could someone be in trouble? Why was nobody going to help?. She takes a step back, wondering if maybe she should be the one to go and hears voices coming from down the halls, it sounds like an argument “Touko lets go” Kotone whispers urgently, someone was getting hurt down there and she was just going to leave? “I’ll be quick” she says dropping her school bag and heading towards the noise "Touko wait!" Kotone yells but it’s too late, she’s far gone.

Down the empty locker corridors, she follows the voices until she turns a corner and finds what she’s looking for. A student being held up by his collar up to a wall by a tall man, to say that the one being pinned up was scared is an understatement, from where she’s standing she can actually see him trembling, on the other hand she couldn’t blame him, she would be trembling too if she was being pinned by someone like the other guy. That one looks too old to be a student, he’s not wearing a uniform either so it begs the question How is he in school grounds? He has long hair, the longest she’s ever seen a man have and it looks messy and out of place as if its barely staying in its pony tail, but what really catches her eye is the color. It’s a light green tone she’s seen before, a long time ago and for a moment she’s entranced by it, until the student starts talking again.

"I-I-I..."

**BANG!**

"Stop stuttering!" his voice is soft and melodic but still deep; it makes the words he says sound even more menacing.

"I said I'm sorry!" The victim finally yells but green hair bangs him against the wall once more, Touko can feel the pain just by seeing the student react to it.

"People like you don’t deserve to live, the damage you do can’t be fixed by apologizing" green hair hisses pulling out a pocket knife to hold against the student’s throat “I’ll show you”

"Stop!" She yells taking a step closer to the pair.

Both males turn to her. Green hair looks her up and down and seems unimpressed “Get out of here, my problem isn’t with you” he dismisses her and gets back to his victim. _As if_ she thinks to herself before she dives between them and pushes green hair out of the way using her both hands. He loses his grip on the student and staggers a few steps back caught by surprise “Run!” she yells and the guy doesn’t have to be told twice, she starts to leave behind him when a hand clasps on her arm and pulls her back throwing her arms first to the floor “I told you to leave” green hair is standing over her, knife still in hand. If he thinks he can intimidate her he is in for a surprise, she doesn’t pick fights she can’t win. She turns on her back to look at him “As if I was going to let you hurt him” Touko says defiantly and immediately kicks up directing her foot to the hand holding the weapon making it fly out of his grasp, the man curses as he follows objects trajectory but looks back just in time to block a second kick directed to his stomach with his arm, Touko prides herself in seeing the man rub the arm he used “I don’t have a problem with you either” she says “If you could just step aside and let me leave it would be great” but the man doesn’t seem to want that “Maybe on a different day I would” he mumbles cracking his knuckles “But I’m having a really bad day today” Touko prepares herself for a fight and her opponent is set to give his first blow when they’re interrupted.

"Touko!” Both of them turn towards the voice who Touko knows belongs to Cheren, he gives a wary look at the green haired man as he walks by but turns to her instead “I told you to meet me outside" he stalks toward her scowling "Good thing Kotone called me before anything happened" he mumbles glaring at green hair "So _you’re_ Touko” Green hair says to her slightly less angry "Should’ve figured, I’ve never seen you around before" he then turns to Cheren “You should take better care of your charges”

"That’s none of your business Harmony" green hair chuckles

"On the contrary, Dragon, this is very much my business" he looks between the both of them, one of his hands hovering around his back, for the first time she notices the silhouette of a gun under his shirt. She turns to Cheren but from the way he’s looking at the man she can tell he already knows. After a long silence their opponent sighs and lets his hand fall into his pockets “You’re not worth it right now” he mumbles before heading further into the school building "Take care, Dragon princess" he says as he passes next to her.

A chill runs down her spine as she stares at him walking away, he doesn’t look back at them once, only bends over to pick up his knife and for a moment she fears he’ll turn around to confront them, but he stays on his path; after he makes a turn that leaves him out of sight Cheren pulls her arm to get her attention.

"Who is that?" she asks as they make their way to his motorcycle.

"That's N Harmonia, his father Ghetsis Harmonia runs the Harmony group, a few years ago they started climbing the Yakuza rankings at an alarming speed, I would say they’re number two right now"

"Are they an ally gang?"

"No, in fact, your father suspects Ghetsis is the one behind your assassination attempts"

“Why?” she mumbles to herself but Cheren who seems to hear everything responds anyway

“We would all like to know”

Outside the school his motorcycle is standing by the sidewalk “You’re Father asked to see you, don’t want to keep him waiting” He says handing her the white helmet, she nods getting on and putting her arms around his torso.

A few minutes later they are again zooming across Castelia city, Touko is sure she will never get used to traveling this way. They arrive at her old home, headquarters to The White Dragon. Cheren stops momentarily at the gates and appears to wave to a camera before they open towards the inside of the estate and lets them in. Cheren parks under one of the cherry trees in the courtyard, Touko is surprised to find flowers planted around the old house. She takes of her helmet and looks around at the colorful display “It’s a hobby of his” Cheren says dismounting “Seems like a gentle kind of hobby” Touko comments as she runs her hand through the bushes “You make it sound like your father is some ruthless man”. Touko doesn’t want to argue with him, she has something else in her mind, and the idea of a Yakuza member being remotely gentle did not sit well with her, especially after her earlier encounter “If you say so”.

The house is not buzzing with energy as she remembered, it was a two-floor estate with multiple rooms and a fair-sized garden. It had been in the White family for generations and as the years had gone by it became less of a living space and turned into headquarters. From her previous visits she was aware the first floor was completely dedicated to Yakuza business while the second floor was where the old living quarters remained along with a small medical center.

Today the house appears quiet except for the servants that receive them “Master White is waiting for you in the tea room lady Touko” one of them say. Cheren and her give their thanks to the two women and see them scurry away “I’ll wait for you to finish; I’m going to catch up with some people” and with that Cheren sends her off. Touko walks through the hallways until she reaches a familiar door, she’s not sure what her father could want with her so soon. She slides the door and finds someone sitting inside, but it’s not her father.

“Hey little white!” her brother’s cheerful tone welcomes her, in front of him the small table is already set with two cups and to the side there is a young woman dressed in a traditional kimono ready to serve “Hi” she says slowly as she walks in and kneels to sit in front of her brother. She’s glad to see her brother but she wonders if he’s here because something might have happened to her father “I thought I was meeting with father today” before answering her Touya gestures to the woman to start serving them, Touko can’t help feeling uneasy but Touya does not seemed fazed at all, this must be what life had been like for him “Dad? I don’t think so, he’s out with another Yakuza head foreseeing a partnership. I’m the one who asked to see you” Touko nods, the servants had said master White and she supposed Touya did qualify as that, maybe Cheren had gotten mixed up that way too; either way she preferred this outcome.

“Well, I’d rather see you than him anyway” she jokes, Touya gives her a sheepish smile “Yeah, that’s what I want to talk about” Touko’s face falls. Before she can ask what he means by that the kimono woman places a plate with biscuits and kneels to serve their tea, it smells sweet and alluring. Her mother didn’t like having tea at home, she preferred coffee but this smelled delightful.

“Thank you, leave us please” even when he orders people around his voice never looses its soft touch.

The woman bows lightly and walks out of the room, Touya waits for the door to slide back closed before speaking again “I heard you asked dad to let you finish school before finding you a husband” Touko nods “It was a smart decision” he compliments her making her chest fill with pride “Thank you” Touko picks up her cup of tea and takes a small sip, it’s a sweet flavor “He didn’t seem to have that opinion when I asked” Touya still holds his warm smile ”Dad just doesn’t know how to behave around you, he loves you and you’re being a bit hard on him”

“Maybe if he’d been more in my life he wouldn’t be so confused” she says as politely as possible, she did not like what her brother had implied. Touya seems to get a hint “Why don’t you focus on the positive side to the deal? You get to finish your studies” _I get time to run away_ “I know a lot of young Yakuza members attend that school, you always said you wanted to make new friends” Touko stops herself from scoffing, she had no interest in making friends with that kind of people. But Kotone doesn’t seem bad, neither does her brother and if Bianca had developed a crush on Cheren it meant he wasn’t as bad as he seemed _maybe I’ve been biased, there’s also the incident with…_ “I guess, I did meet some people today, Kotone and Bianca?” she tells her brother, he seems pleased about her opening up “Silver’s fiancée? She’s great, I always thought you two would be good friends” “You know her then?” Touya moves his head around in a so-so kind of manner “In a way, I knew her brother” “Oh, she didn’t mention having a brother” Touya’s expression turns slightly somber and he stares at his cup momentarily “He died in a fight a few years ago” he sighs and takes a sip of his tea, Touko doesn’t know what to say “Oh, I’m sorry” at least Touya told her, she wouldn’t have wanted to start an awkward conversation at school with Kotone “It’s alright, it’s been a while and I’m sure she’ll be glad to have you as a friend” Touko smiles weakly, for brief moment she wonders if Kotone had considered ever running from the Yakuza like her, what kind of feelings could she harbor for a lifestyle that had gotten her brother killed?

“Her marriage with Silver is an arranged one but they seem smitten with each other now” Touya continues, his eyes back on her “Please tell me you are not trying to soften me into the marriage idea” Touko sets her cup down leveling her eyes with her brother. She loves him, she really does, he’s the only good person in her life as far as she knows and it gives her nausea to think her father is using that against her “Not everything has to have a deeper meaning” he states calmly scratching the back of his head, she almost feels guilty for assuming “I was just giving you information on the people you’ve met today, but don’t worry, I understand how that could make you uncomfortable, let’s talk about something else” Touko nods, of course her brother is only looking out for her “Sorry, I would like to know more I’m just not comfortable talking about the marriage thing” Touya smiles “Of course” she then thinks of something she can ask him “Since you’re up to giving me information, what can you tell me about the Harmony group” Touya makes a surprised face, he doesn’t look like he wants to hide information, just shocked “How did you hear about them?” he asks instead, genuine curiosity edged in his voice, Touko smiles sheepishly and averts her gaze “I may have run into someone called N at school” to her surprise Toya doesn’t seem too alarmed “I see” he says before he keeps quiet for a moment, as if considering his next words “They’re a small group as far as we can tell, they’ve never interfered with The White Dragon business but I know their leader, Ghetsis, and father aren’t on good terms” Touko hums, she considers whether to tell him what Cheren mentioned, she’s not sure if she wants to know that truth. She seems to take longer than she thought because Touya interrupts her as if reading her thoughts “Cheren told you didn’t he?” she focuses back on him, returning from her train of thought “Father does suspect him, but only because he is the only person in all Unova who is openly hostile to him, there is no hard proof to link the attempts at your life to them” he then grabs a biscuit from the tray and pops it into his mouth. It makes sense, if they did have proof things would have already been solved years ago, there had to be a reason why nothing had been done yet.

“If you ask me” Touya continued “the man is all bark and no bite, I’ve met him before, when I accompany dad to gatherings and city council meetings, he’s like an older version of his son, save for the eyepatch and red eye” Touko had never seen anyone with red eyes before, she guessed there weren’t many people like that _just like there shouldn’t be many people with green hair_ “He’s always looking at our dad as if he wants to run something through him, and when they talk to each other there is blatant disrespect” she tries to view things in an impartial way “Sounds a bit exaggerated” Touya chuckles “I guess it is, when you’re used to seeing powerful people kneel in respect to dad that man’s attitude stands out too much” Touko fidgets with her now empty cup “So they’re not too dangerous then?” he shakes his head “As an organization, to us, not really” he pauses and as he says what comes next he holds her gaze the same way her father does “But if you see N again, it’s better to stay away from him, you know better than anyone children and parents aren’t the same” Touko nods solemnly, she goes over her encounter with him “He seemed… unstable” Touya purses his lips “I’ve never met him, but some of my men have said that too” Touko doesn’t know what to say next so she musters a quick “Thanks Touya". She hears him stand up and walk towards her, next she feels his arms wrap around her body, she melts into their hug “I just want you safe little white”.

"Good Morning Touko!" Out of the corner of her eye Touko sees Bianca approaching from the buildings entrance as she’s changing to her indoor shoes. "Oh, morning Bianca" said girl leaves her bag in the ground next to her and proceeds to open a locker two doors away from hers "I didn't know our lockers were so close together" she says pulling out her own pair. She looks amazingly upbeat, maybe yesterday she’d been nervous about meeting Touko? Either way it was strangely refreshing. "Kotone told me about the run in you had with N” she said his name in a whisper, as if it might invoke him “Nothing happened really" Touko decides against telling her the truth, mainly because it involved Yakuza information “I heard someone scream and I thought I should help” Bianca nods "Well it’s good that you didn’t involve yourself more, he's really dangerous, rumors say he joined a Yakuza group after graduating” Touko seems to picks on this next piece of information “He wasn’t wearing a uniform, I suspected he wasn’t a student” Bianca nods fervently “He probably came to scare people for fun” Touko can’t help laughing a bit, the guy didn’t seem like that sort off person “c’mon, we’re going to be late” she tells Bianca.

As the bell signaling for lunch sounds Touko prepares herself to go meet Kotone and Bianca when she feels a vibration in her pocket. For the first time in her life her father had permitted her a phone, even if it were an old burner one with only three numbers inside it. She flipped it open and saw it was a message from Cheren telling her to meet him behind the school building. She walks outside and finds Kotone on her way to her classroom already, she explains to her that Cheren is asking to meet him, Kotone only smiles and waves her hand “Don’t worry, I’ll see you later then”

She finds him already sitting on the floor eating out of a lunchbox, her stomach growls and she wonders if she should’ve bought lunch at the cafeteria before coming here, but once he sees her he gestures to a second lunch box next to his.

“Did you make your mom do these?” she teases taking a bite out of one of the small sandwiches packed “Did it myself” Cheren answers in a monotone voice “Well a surprise to be sure” she says savoring “How did you get in here?” she asks next and Cheren shrugs “I was an honor student; some members of the administration are still fond of me so they let me in” “That does sound like you” Touko muses “Why are you here though?” she takes another bite “I wanted to talk to you in private” alarms start going off in her head “About that night” Touko says nothing, she doesn’t regret it but she’d hoped Cheren would give her more time before bringing the subject up “There’s nothing to talk about” she mumbles picking at the strawberries in her box, they were coated with cream and sugar, a dessert of sorts “The meeting with Touya yesterday, it was about finding you a match wasn’t it?” Touko gritted her teeth, so that is why he was bringing the subject up “It wasn’t and even if had been it has nothing to do with you, I already told you I am not interested” Cheren puts his box down and turns to her, he has a determined expression on his face “I know but then…” he trails of “We had sex” she interjects trying to make this less awkward for herself “We had sex, and I’m not interpreting that as a declaration of love I just think it means we’re close enough to be comfortable in this kind of arrangement”

Cheren is a smart person, the smartest one she knows and this is again proof of that, he wants to climb up on the Yakuza ranks and there isn’t an easier wat to do it than by marrying her and in exchange Cheren would probably be the most accommodating husband she could get _If that’s what I wanted._

“You’re not wrong” she says still toying with her food “But I believe there is a third option for me and I’m going to choose that” Cheren rolls his eyes, she stills herself for his next comment “I know you’re thinking on leaving” she holds his eyes warily “and I won’t do anything to prevent you from leaving but as your friend I think I should at least try to warn you not to do it” Touko shakes her head “If you were my friend you would help me” “I’m your friend, but I also want to live a while longer” Touko moves her empty lunch box closer to his as he carries on “Feigning ignorance is the best I can do for you” Touko’s eyes soften, he looks sincere, and he does have a point.

She stares at him for a while longer, trying to figure him out and when he gets tired from it he sighs and lets his head fall into his arms. He grew up into a handsome young man, his glasses give him a tender soft look but she knows inside that brain there is nothing tender going on which is why somehow, what he says feels more meaningful than what it is.

Silently she leans into him and gives him a peck in the cheek “I understand, and I appreciate it” Cheren turns to her alarmed, his face softening, slowly he starts leaning into her, it’s enough time to push him away but Touko leans in too. She likes Cheren, he’d said she’d matured and she agreed but he had also changed, he was less dislikable, less strict, more open minded, a part of her wasn’t sure if it was an act to get her to take on his offer but the other side of her, deep down knows Cheren has realized they’re the only ones they can be themselves around.

She suspects this but still she isn’t sure what he gets out of their kissing, maybe just the fun of it, letting go for a few seconds. She gets the thrill, she’s not sure what falling in love could be like, probably stronger than a crush, and she knows kissing that person must feel different, but right now her friend’s lips on hers feel good enough “You’re not my type you know?” Cheren says at one point, they were in a full make out session and they’d come apart for air “I prefer cuter girls” Touko scoffs, she knows this is his way of assuring her this does not mean he has a crush on her and she plays along “You’re not my type either” she sighs, one of her hands holding her and the other playing with his hair “I prefer kinder guys” they both laugh softly before getting back to each other.

"Nice catch Cheren!"

They immediately break away from each other and turn to where the voice came from, Cheren stands and after seeing his defensive posture Touko follows. Cheren looks warily at the five students approaching, they don’t look too impressive, around her same age and sporting their uniform in a disheveled way, Touko knows a high school bully when she sees one. Until one of them pulls out a gun. _Alright, so Yakuza members then._

"Mind sharing? You seemed to be having a mouthful there" the one to the left says "Can I help you with something?" Cheren says standing properly "Maybe kick your poor excuse of an ass again?" He smirks. "Shut up!" middle guy says getting closer until the gun’s canon is pretty much in front of them "We’re in neutral ground " Cheren says but the guy doesn’t falter “As if I care”. From where she is behind him Touko can’t read Cheren’s expression, somehow his cool is contagious.

"If you shoot, in a public establishment like this, in the middle of the day its more likely that the police will get you, when they identify your brand all of your group will be in big trouble, not a smart decision but then again you aren't a smart kind of guy”

"You’re getting on my nerves Dragon"

“I get on the nerves off many people so..."

“Enough!” the guy with a gun gestures for two of the group and then to Touko “You owe us a beating, so this is what’s going to happen”

“I’ll make an opening, you get into the building and find somewhere to hide" Cheren whispers, she nods and prepares herself.

"You’re going to take this nicely or your girl there takes a few hits as well" The boy chuckles

"Oh, that won’t be necessary" With a swift movement Cheren throws something at the guy with the gun who in response lets go of the weapon and holds his now bleeding arm. When she looks closely they turn out to be needles.

"Get him!" He yells, Touko takes that as an opening and starts running on the opposite direction start running but something grabs her arm before turning the corner, she turns to find one of the yakuza holding her back "Where do you think you're going?" The guy asks, smirk in his face; without thinking she jumps and using his grab on her pulls herself towards him to land a kick on his face. He lets go of her on time for the landing to tend for his bleeding nose, she doesn’t wait for him to recover and starts running again.

"You bitch!" She hears the scream behind her, they run through the courtyard gaining stares from other students, it was a bizarre scene but apparently not enough to intrude. She enters the school building and chances a look to see how behind they were. There were two guys after her, Cheren was probably preoccupied with the other three.

She climbs the stairs, thinking maybe if she goes deeper into the building they’ll give up chasing after her. The hallways were empty at the moment, everyone was still in the cafeteria or in the courtyard eating lunch, she only had to make time for the bell to ring again, once the hallways swarmed with people they wouldn’t be able to do anything to her. She takes a sharp turn into a separate hallway in an attempt to lose them and ends up in a dead end, she can hear them in the other hallway, wondering where she disappeared to and approaching, in her panic she’d missed the stairway tucked behind some lockers but after a second looks she sees it, it probably leads to the ceiling. Without thinking twice, and since it is the better option she starts climbing as quietly as possible until reaching the door at the end.

Silently she sits at the edge of the stairs catching her breath and strains her ear searching for a sound from her pursuers. Nothing. For now. They could still be roaming around, waiting for her to come out of hiding. She sighs, the best move would be to wait out the bell here, she turns to the door next to her, its slightly ajar and light is coming from it. She can hear air whistling on the other side, _as long as I’m already here_ she thinks before standing and going through the door.

The first thing he realizes is she can breathe better up there, the city is alright but after a few days in she’d realized pollution did affect her nose, she was used to the clean air from town. She sits down, her back against the wall, this could be her permanent lunch eating spot, she has nothing against the cafeteria and eating with Kotone and Bianca but this place was more to her taste, maybe they would be ok with joining her. She rests her head against the wall and closes her eyes, just enjoying the air hitting her face.

“I won't hurt you"

She opens her eyes instantly and turns to where the voice had come from. She knows the voice, after yesterday’s incident she was hoping not to run into him again. Ever.

She’s thinking on leaving her new hiding spot when she hears a whimper. An animal´s whimper.

"Stay still" the voice says, he doesn’t sound menacing this time.

Another whimper follows, this time the sound is clearer, it’s a dog.

"Don't worry, after this it won't hurt anymore"

Touko stares at the place where the noises are coming from, it’s rounding the corner from where she’s sitting. She could go and take a peek but she knows who she would find in the other side and she’s not sure she wants to confront her suspicions so soon, she knows the man is probably caring for the animal, that’s something _he_ would do, but she doesn’t want N to be _him._ Slowly she stands, it appears he hasn’t noticed her yet so she takes advantage of it and heads to the door, she’s ready to start making her way down when the sound of loud steps stops her “She must’ve gone this way” she hears a male voice say from down below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I decided to end this here because next chapter is on N's POV. Exciting~


	3. His soliloquy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness, I had a very rough couple of weeks and with the holidays in the middle it only complicated things. I also had to rewrite a lot of this chapter but I like the new end product, I hope its less OOC for N than what it used to be.

"Stay still" he says in the most soothing voice he can as he finishes tying the bandages on the dogs left front leg, he usually doesn’t come at this time of the day but after yesterday’s incident maybe he should reconsider his schedule "Don't worry, he won’t be coming close to you again" he lets himself fall back to a sitting position as the dog stares at him for a moment before coming closer to him and laying its head over one of his legs. N’s chest fills with warm, thee smalls signs of affection from his charge are what makes him get up in the morning. That guy he’d confronted the day before had found out about the dog, N could guess it must’ve been on the day he couldn’t come to feed it, his father had asked him to supervise an interrogation during the day and the dog had probably gotten antsy and started making enough sound to catch some one’s attention. It seems like life never gets tired of showing him how disgusting people can be.

The dog isn’t anything special, a mix of different races, he’s almost sure it’s a born a stray; N found it some months before graduating, the year before, and he still hadn’t found where to take it to. He runs a hand through his face and over his head, Castelia isn’t usually hot but being under the sun up there helps. "Are you thirsty?" he asks the injured animal; of course it doesn’t answer but he still gets up to look for the dog plate he’d bought it "Now where's you- ?" the sound of voices stops him on his track.

His eyes narrow, and his mouth turns into a grimace. Would yesterday’s guy be stupid enough to come back? He turns to the dog, N isn’t a certified veterinary, or anything close; all he knows is what he’s researched on the internet and his experience with addressing his own wounds after a bad fight and even tho he’s positive the dog will get better with his care he doesn’t want any more surprise visits. He takes out his pocket knife, he’ll end this quickly, his father doesn’t know he’s here, no one does so it won’t be a problem when the bodies are found.

He rounds the corner where he is and finds the door wide open, he’d eft it closed, he knows he did, he always does. His thoughts are interrupted with the arrival of the owners of the voices he’d heard, hurried steps stop short at the doors frame. Three students, none that he recognizes, neither of them the one from the day before; he relaxes slightly and is quick to hide the weapon on his hand. “Sorry boys, this zone is restricted for students” he says coolly, walking towards them.

Students had stumbled across the stairway before, that’s how he’d find it in the first place but a few words with them quickly turned them away. But these three remained, he’s thinking on using a more menacing tone when one of the them breaks the silence “S-sorry N” he says, _so they know me_ he thinks _it should make things easier_. Another one of the three elbows the first in the ribs, the third speaks up “What are _you_ doing here?” N doesn’t like the tone _someone wants to look tough_ “You graduated, you shouldn’t be allowed in school property” N pulls out the knife again _If they won’t leave the easy way_ he thinks and started playing with the knife between his fingers. The three students visibly tense “You should leave” he mumbles eyeing them cautiously. The guy who’d spoken first is pulling on the rude one’s arm “Sorry for intruding N” he says “We’re looking for someone and we thought they might have come up here” N purses his lips, the door had been open before those three arrived, the pursued might be there “No one has come up here so you can leave and look somewhere else” he tries to get rid of the bunch but the rude one doesn’t seem satisfied with the answer, still the trio leaves.

N waits by the door for their footsteps to drift away before closing it and turning to the only other hiding place up there. The rooftop was built like a **U** with the door to the building places on the base of the letter, he’d been on one side so it meant the other student had to be on the other “Come out” he commands, he isn’t planning on letting them go right away, he has to know how much did they see, specially if they saw the dog but whoever is hiding doesn’t respond “Come out and leave” he tries a direct approach but still nothing. He sighs _fine, if they don’t come out I’ll get them out_. He turns the corner to where the cleaning utensils where kept, expecting to find the pursued student, only to find no one hiding there. His eyebrows furrow, maybe he’d left the door open and he’d forgotten? The idea doesn’t last too much in his mind when he hears barking from behind him. He walks back to the door and finds the dog barking at something on the roof and when he looks up sure enough there’s a girl there. She was probably trying to slip away unnoticed, points for the good idea and being able to climb that high without him noticing. Either she wasn’t aware of the dog or didn’t think it would alert him of her escape. In all honesty he finds her current dilemma amusing “It won’t hurt you” he screams up to her but the girl doesn’t look convinced “It’s not the dog I’m worried about” she answers back.

A bell goes of inside his brain. The girl is Jacobs daughter, of course the junior Yakuza were after the little dragon princess. His entire demeanor shifts "I thought you would stay away from me after what happened yesterday" he says narrowing his eyes at her, she makes an unpleasant face in return “Trust me I’m not here on purpose” he turns to the dog instead and kneels down to pet it and get the barking to stop. He doesn’t like people coming up here, and he specially does not like Yakuza members, and her, being who she is, makes things even more complicated. He doesn’t like complicated. He let her go the day before because the dog was hurt and needed his attention immediately; besides, his father had yet to give him instructions on her, he’d informed the group that she was in the city but nothing else and he knows his father doesn’t like it when people ‘take initiative’ “You can come down you know” he stands up and walks to where the dog’s water bowl is stowed away _just leave_ “I’m good” comes her answer, he sighs. He pulls a water bottle from the backpack he’d left on the floor and serves some to the dog who immediately starts drinking, he then turns back to his unwanted company, she’s looking at the animal too, seems entrance by it, probably for lack of anything else to look at.

He could at least get some information on her; maybe get to know what they have to deal with. He decides to pick on the subject that is nagging in his brain “The guy you defended yesterday” he starts “He did this” he gestures to the bandages on the dog. How will she react? Will she cower in remorse or hold her ground? She is now sitting crossed legged, still looking at the dog, her face betrays nothing “People can be disgusting” the wind carries her words away but he still hears them, his thoughts echoed in her voice “But you defended him” he insists and she nods solemnly “You were about to kill him” so she had a hero complex then, but he’s not going to let her off that easy “The world doesn’t need people like him, people who take pleasure in hurting innocent creatures” she scoffs “You’re one to talk” her legs are hanging of the edge now and she moves them back and forth as if in a swing set, she’s staring hard at him. _What?_ “What?” she sighs, he can tell she’s preparing a lecture of sorts _this ought to be interesting_

“You claim to have the moral high ground; might have it in this situation but we both know your organization is filled with people like that guy, probably even worse, so if you really want to rid the world of people like them I’d suggest you start with your own”

He hums “Interesting, why don’t you take your own advice on that matter?” her glare deepens “You don’t know anything about me” now its N’s turn to scoff “Neither do you about me” she looks him up and down, as if searching for clues on any aspect on him before deciding on looking away “You’re right, I don’t”

They stay in silence for a few more minutes before she speaks again “I’ll go to the police” N is about to threaten her, his eyes betray him and the girl quickly puts her hands out to clarify “For the dog!” she gestures to the drinking animal “You didn’t go because…” she trails of and chances a look at him, he nods; she probably thinks it’s because he’s an heir but really is because he doesn’t want his father to know of the animal. Ghetsis doesn’t like to see his son getting attached to anything “But I’m new in town and nobody knows me so I’ll take care of it and see that the guy is _accordingly_ punished, as an apology to _him_ ” the dog chooses that moment to flop on his stomach “It is a him right?” N nods “Yeah, it’s a him”

He considers her proposition, her intentions are good but the most the police would do is file a report on it and put it on his record in case of a second offence; if she really wants to make up for it he has something in mind “I have a better idea” he says “You can help me take care of it while his wounds heal, I usually come here after school to check on it but sometimes I’m caught up in… work” he usually works at night but that only means he sleeps during the day, she lifts her eyebrow but nods “If you can check on it at lunch time it would be great”. She turns to the dog and then to N, a few moments ago she seemed to be the kind of person that would be happy to help taking care of an injured animal but now he thinks she’s taking too long to decide.

Finally he turns to him with an unsure expression “Alright”

Just then they hear the sound of a bell ring across the building signaling the end of lunch break.

“That’s your cue” he tells her and steps back expecting her to take a leap of the roof but the girl stays put, surveying the floor below her. He waits a while longer until it occurs to him “You can’t get down can you?” she huffs “Of course I can” he doesn’t say anything else but waits for her next move. Hero complex and smart mouth are not a good combination for someone in her position.

He sees her get up and take a few steps back, without warning she throws herself off the roof and rolls on the floor before stopping on her knees right in front of the security railing. She turns to him with a triumphant smile from the floor “See? I don’t get myself up in places I can’t come down from” he can’t help smiling back, it’s been a long time since he’d last smiled and he immediately corrects himself _._

While he focuses on pushing away his intrusive thoughts she gets up and dusts herself before turning to him “We never introduced ourselves” she says extending her hand to him. He hadn’t seen her up close, not under the sunlight, not with a shy smile adorning her face and her big blue eyes looking straight at his own, something shifts inside him. He looks at her hand warily but takes it anyway.

“I’m N”

“Touko”

and as both of them shake hands he can’t help thinking how much Touko’s blue eyes remind him of his old friend´s.

* * *

A few hours later he’s opening the door to his own place "I'm home" he greets to no one in particular as he steps into the old house, it isn’t anything special, just a place with running water and functional gas and electricity. It was mostly empty, it only served as a somewhere to rest for him and sometimes as a cage where his father could keep him while he wasn’t using him. He makes his way to the kitchen "N you’re back!" Anthea’s voice rings through his head, she’s wearing an apron and moving around the island cleaning none-existent dirt from the appliances. She’s always in the kitchen, in a way he finds her presence there reliable “There are some leftovers from yesterday’s dinner in the fridge” he nods “Thank you Anthea”.

The house is equipped with anything he could need and because he like his privacy he does his best at keeping it in the best shape possible, he will never admit it but Anthea and Concordia help him keep up the work “You’re going to need to buy some groceries soon N” Anthea keeps on talking. He doesn’t mind of course, Concordia and her took care of him when he was a child, his father said they would be his sisters but he always thought of them more like mother figures, they were too old to be his father’s daughters. Once the food is heated up he takes a serving and heads to his room. He hopes he won’t run into Concordia on his way, she doesn’t like him eating on his room, they don’t understand he isn’t a kid anymore.

He leaves his bag near the door before closing it and sits on his bed to eat, the house is eerily silent, that’s why he doesn’t mind Anthea and Concordia´s company; he believes they keep him grounded, they’re a reminder to not let himself fall like Ghetsis, like his father. He reflects on what Touko had said, of course he’s aware of what yakuza people are like, but the Harmony group is different; his father isn’t interested in the money, he’s interested in the future.

Ghetsis is a revolutionary and N a symbol; a symbol of what he isn’t sure but it is what his father tells him. His father call’s on N when he needs specific jobs done; things he can’t trust his usual members to do. They’re not a numerous group but for what they lack in quantity they have in quality and N is the best there is, his father had made sure of it.

He finishes his food and leaves the plate over his night stand, for now he has to rest, he has a job to do tonight. He stands to close the curtains that permit light into the room and returns to his bed to try and fall asleep. He’s always had a difficult time falling asleep and that’s why he keeps a bottle of sleeping pills in his medicine cabinet in the bathroom but today he isn’t sure about leaving the intrusive thoughts keeping him awake; intrusive thoughts of a girl he thinks he knows.

He’s always been torn about his childhood memories, torn between the pleasant ones and the ones that gave him nightmares. He indulges himself now and then, thinking about the good times he spent with his old friend but the mental after taste is what makes him recoil. He doesn’t like how the memories make him feel, somehow the bad things on the present become worse when compared to their time together whilst the good things in the past turn tragic when confronted with the way his life turned out. He runs a hand up to his face, a headache making its way into his skull, another side effect of dwelling on things he shouldn’t. He tries distracting himself, he sits up on his bed and looks around the room. It’s bare from anything that would indicate who inhabits it. A dresser, a bed, an unused desk he barely touched even when he was in high school. No posters, no books, no computer, no mementos, no pictures… not here at least.

It seems his brain is set on dwelling on the past inspired by todays run in with the Dragon princess. He tries steering his mind into a tangent; Should he tell his father that he’s made contact with her? That he knows where she’ll be? It could make things easier for his father. No, his father must already know, that school is filled to the brim with junior Yakuza members, someone must already have tipped him off, Ghetsis didn’t keep him informed always, only when it was strictly necessary and he was ok with that. He didn’t ask questions and his father did not meddle in N’s life. It made it harder for him to understand how he was supposed to be prepared to fill the position of Boss in a few years but he’d rather not question his father’s ways.

He decides not to tell him then, he needs her to take care of the dog anyway. Hopefully whatever his father has planned for her wouldn’t happen right away. She doesn’t seem like a bad person, maybe aggressive and reckless but with good intentions _just like a hero._ He grimaces.

“Heroes have no place in the world N” his father had told him many times, after he’d tried to free some of the animals the scientist and headquarters experimented on “They are people who don’t understand that sacrifices must be made in order to progress”. The year after his return to Castelia had been difficult “Your sisters taught you how to look out for yourself” his father explained to thirteen-year-old him “Now you will learn how to become a valuable” and N had learned so much in the city and understood his father’s vision along the way.

He has nothing against Touko, he can tell she’s a good person from the few encounters he’s had with her; maybe that’s why she reminds him of _her_ ; maybe that’s what worries him. His father didn’t know about N’s old friend, Anthea and Concordia had helped him keep the secret, if Ghetsis had known the girl would be dead and maybe he’d be a better yakuza for it. Ghetsis believes the Harmony group is better curated for its initiation rite, in order to join their ranks, one must kill someone they love. That’s what he was sent to Lacunosa for.

So, what if it was Touko? What would that mean for him?

He’d never entertained the idea of seeing her again, especially now. It doesn’t help that she’d be around Touko’s age by now, the possibility of them being the same person doesn’t sit well in his mind, he’d left town in a hurry, too scared and confused to face her. He’d barely turned thirteen, he was a kid. And he was younger than him, would she even remember him?

The headache is too much, this is why he doesn’t like thinking about it. He stands up and walks to his bathroom, pulls on the back of his mirror and takes his migraine pills. He needs to sleep.

* * *

When his phone alarm rings a few hours later it’s already dark outside, he’s usually a light sleeper with dreamless nights, the pills help that way. The first nights he spent alone back in the city he’d barely slept because of the nightmares, his father had helped with that; the pills helped him have an uninterrupted sleep, no good or bad dreams to disturb him. He heads to his shower to start getting ready, the feeling of hot water helps relax him and he sighs in pleasure, this is what he needed, a long warm shower to drive the dark thoughts away.

He finishes and steps out to his room to finish dressing himself but stops short when he sees someone sitting on his bed. Concordia seems peaceful, smoothing the wrinkles of his sheets, a closed lip smile in her expression “There’s something in your mind N” she tells him still not meeting his eyes, her presence usually brought him peace, she was sweater than Anthea, more caring. He turns to his room door, it’s slightly ajar, he hadn’t closed it right. He walks to his dresser and searches for clothe to put on “Do you want to talk about it?” her voice is soft, like smoke making its way around him “I need to get ready, I’m fine” he tries answering her but she doesn’t seem convinced “You don’t look fine to me”

He gets back inside the bathroom to change, he thought sleeping would help take the thoughts away but now he has Concordia in his room. When he comes out he half hopes for her to be gone but she’s still there “You can’t hide it from me” he starts gathering his things “I know” “It could help if we talked about it” maybe it would, but it could also make things worse and he is not taking chances right now “I have to go, I can’t talk about it now” he ignores her and leaves the room but she’s right behind him going down the stairs “Natural!” he hates it when they do that “Don’t call me that” he spins back to her, he doesn’t like screaming at them, he really doesn’t “It’s your name” and the way she says it, as if she’s genuinely taken back by his tone. Of course he knows that’s his name, but his father had told him to leave it behind “It’s just N now, you know that” “She’s only trying to help” this time its Anthea’s voice speaking from downstairs and looking at them both _Why are they both here?_ “I need my gun” he mumbles and makes his way past the pink haired sister and into the living room.

He takes out the hidden safe box from the bookcase and pulls out his twin pistols, the cold metal familiar in his hands. A smile creeps to his face as he admires his sixteenth birthday presents. His grandfather had left them before death, 9 inch long with two cannons each they could hold sixteen bullets, eight for each cannon. They had the yakuza’s insignia branded at the end of the canon, a single G clef same as the one on the back of his neck, beautiful.

“Stop trying to distract yourself” Anthea’s voice booms across the room “you shouldn’t go out tonight” he packs both guns into their holsters.

“You always say that”

“You don’t want this N”

“We just want to help you N”

He takes a deep breath, maybe he should take another pill, their usually not persistent. “You’re confused again” no, he isn’t, he has work to do “I’m not” “Your guilt is eating at you again” How could it not? With them surrounding him and confronting him like this? He is a mess, he knows he’s still a mess, his head swarming with things he can’t seem to control and he knows things would get worse if Touko really were to be- _But she isn’t!_ “But you want her to be” this time Concordia is the one speaking “You can pretend all you want, make excuses for yourself, even take your pills to try and distract you from what you feel because you are scared of what it means for her to come back into your life” she comes closer to him and he can almost feel her hands on his face, trying to comfort him “And you are right to be scared, but you also want her back, you want to go back” he can feel his heart beating faster, of course they’re right, they are always right, they say what he is too afraid to admit to himself, they do what he is too afraid to do.

There’s a knock on the door, firm, he can tell who it is and is grateful for the interruption, it brings him back to reality. He gives one last apologetic look at his sisters and walks away from them; they don’t try to stop him; it seems they’ve said their piece.

On the other side there’s a man he knows too well, his father had introduced them once he started going out on jobs, they were his father’s bodyguards, not that Ghetsis needed them since he barely left their headquarters so they were usually tasked to help N on any jobs he had to do "Good evening master N" the white-haired man greets him, he’s dressed in an all-black suit, a mask covers half of his face leaving only his eyes to see. N nods his greetings and follows the man to the car that awaited for them.

Inside the vehicle two other were waiting, both with hair as white as the first and dressed exactly the same “Your father needs us to escort a package for him” they explain. This is how he and his father usually communicated “Alright” Ghetsis doesn’t trust many people, but these three men are the exception. They drive in silence for the rest of the trip until they reach downtown Castelia. The streets are eerily quiet, clubs and bars getting ready to close early at the lack of clients in a week night, they drive into the back alley of one of the clubs, N can read the words “The Diamond on Fire” on a turned off neon sign. The car stops outside the backdoor to the establishment. N and two of the trio get out of the car “Keep a lookout” one of the men tells him “We can bring the package ourselves but things could get messy” N nods, it isn’t new for him to stay back. Both men go inside, the third stays inside the car with the engine on, they shouldn’t take too much time.

He rounds to the back of the car and leans against the trunk eyeing the few people that were still on the main street. None gave second look to the dark alley he was in, either too drunk, high or preoccupied on getting home. He’s starting to wonder if it would’ve been a good idea to bring a pack of cigarettes when he hears a commotion from inside the building, there was the mess he was promised. There’s some screaming and then a gunshot, that’s his cue. He runs out to the street, his hand already holding on to one of his pistols.

There are a few people running out of the building, the few customers and employees the bar had for the night. Then almost out of nowhere a car comes screeching to stop right in front of the bars entrance. Two men come out of the club’s entrance, they’re not dressed in any particular way that would tip him off but the guns they carry send an evident message. He hides in the alley and waits “Master N” the designated driver is out of the car, his face says it all, whoever comes out of that club’s door is the package “Dead or alive?” he asks “Alive” N nods and takes out his second pistol.

First he shoots at the car’s tires, it is enough to get the guards attention on him, he shoots both men straight on the forehead before they can do anything to stop him. They fall unceremoniously on their backs, behind them a man had just stepped out to the street, he’s helping a second person to stay upright. He takes a guess to believe the one staggering is supposed to be his target, the theory only confirm itself when the man looks up and he recognizes the face. It looks like the man recognizes N as well, his expression darkens when his eyes take in the scene “And here I thought Ghetsis had taken me lightly” he muses.

The infamous Red, N had heard about him on the streets, head of a minor gang group, he made an effort to keep his dealings on the private light contrary to men like Jacob White or N’s father. What could Ghetsis want with a man like him? He looked a few years older than N, his hair slicked back on place, the man had a movie star glow to him, or at least we would have if he weren’t slumped against his partner barely able to hold himself up.

Red turns to the man helping him stand, they must’ve hit him with some kind of tranquilizer. N knows he can take them both easily, he lifts both guns and pints one at each man; on his part Red lifts his own gun at him “There’s no need for that pretty boy” his words come out in heavy pants, as if he’s straining to keep himself up “Even I know when to give up, there’s no need to draw more blood” N turns to the third man who was yet to say anything “Blue get out of here” Red orders “I’m sure you or Cynthia will be hearing from Ghetsis soon enough” he says this looking directly at N.

* * *

It's not N’s job to question his father’s decisions, he knows he shouldn’t even be wondering what he needs a man like Red for. The Harmony group isn’t the kind to start fights for the sake of it, his father is a calculating man and always keeps his plans to himself; that’s why he isn’t surprised when they arrive at headquarters to drop the now completely unconscious Red off and the shadow triad informs him that he’s dismissed for the night.

He makes his way back home on foot, he likes to walk in the city. He likes the noise of the night life, or rather the lack off. He likes looking into the building’s windows, likes focusing on the ones with lights still on and wonders what kind of life is going inside. He’s good at making stories for himself, entertaining himself; he needs to be after living alone for so many years, otherwise he thinks he would have gone mad already. If he was a few years younger he would question his current sanity, but he knows better now, he’s not crazy, his father has told him he’s just lonely. Ghetsis even tried fixing that for N some years before buying company from a lady much older than him but it was so unpleasant N decided it was better to just lie to his father about him feeling better.

Another reason he likes to walk back home is he can take detours, more specifically to a certain studio he has under the radar from his father.

The place isn’t anything elegant like the house he lives in but it’s habitable, it’s in a run-down area and the rent is cheap. He knows its not right to hide things from his father but he needed a place for himself, with Anthea and Concordia roaming around he needs the peace and tonight, after their conversation, he thinks he should stay the night.

He locks the sliding metal door and heads straight to the kitchen without turning on any lights. He knows the studios layout and with the light coming in from the tall windows he can make his way around the place. He searches the cabinets for sheets to dress the mattress he keeps next to one of the windows. He keeps only the essentials, some changes of clothes, toothbrush and even a first aid kit, anything that he could need for an overnight stay or emergency visit. Otherwise, the place is empty and the medium high ceilings make the echo of his steps even more noticeable.

He finds the sheets stowed in a cabinet next to the unused stove, he uses the built-in kitchen as a storage of sorts. In the process of pulling out the sheets he hears the sound of a book hitting the floor.

He knows it’s the photo album; he keeps it there because he fears his father could find it if it stayed at his home. He thinks about looking through it, it’s been some time since he last looked and tonight is probably not a good night to do it. But maybe looking at the old pictures could help him remember what she looked like, reassure him that he is just imagining things.

He picks up the book and turns on a light to help him see more clearly. The album is small and not particularly heavy, he knows in reality it’s half empty; his friend had gifted it to him after she’d showed him the camera she had gotten for her own birthday a few days before. Every time she took a picture of them she would give it to him for safekeeping in the album.

The first picture was him, he was making a funny face at the camera, eyes crossed and tongue out sitting in a patch of grass. He was ten, maybe eleven, his hair was cut short only hiding his ears. The next photo was him hanging upside down from a tree, she’d taken it a few minutes after the first; they’d like playing around that tree.

She was in the third photograph. Sitting on the grass crossed legged, he was the one taking the photo this time, he’d never used a camera so it had turned out blurry but you could still make out her silhouette. The fourth she’d taken of both of them, their faces put together barely fitting on the small frame. He analyzed the girls face closely, she would’ve been around 8, there were a pair of big blue eyes looking at him, and some strands of her chocolate brown hair sticking to her face.

He goes through more photos, he analyzes the young girls face, searches for any birthmarks, anything that could help him confirm or deny his theory. But the pictures are few, the first week they’d had fun with the camera but after some months she’d gotten bored of taking pictures. Maybe he should’ve told her to keep taking them, of course back them he had no idea those were going to be the only evidence of their friendship left.

He closes the album, turns of the lights and heads to the mattress. He will find out if Touko is his old friend, if only to get his sisters off his back, if only to quiet the ghosts inside his head.


	4. Preview

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is slightly longer than intended but also next one will be shorter.

It’s been almost a week since starting classes at Castelia prep and there haven’t been any more run ins with N Harmonia, Touko counts this as a win situation.

As she shuffles in the cold sheets of the guest room in her hosts apartment she tries to get sleep to take her to no avail, it’s almost 1 am and she’s not sure what to do with her insomnia. Cheren and her had agreed on sparing during the evenings when arriving to Castelia so she would stay in top shape; but today he’d had something to take care of and had gotten back late so she’d been left without her day’s work out. She should’ve still done some exercise herself; it helps her sleep better, but instead she’d decided to take the day as a rest day. Now as she lies awake she realizes her daily workout is what has been helping her sleep for the past days.

Despite it being a big city, life in Castelia is not that different from her life in Nuvema. Of course that could always be due to her unique circumstances and not the cities lifestyle itself.

Unless strictly necessary she was secluded to the apartment, and so far, it has not been necessary for her to get out. She is yet to see anyone from her family since the day she spoke with her father, and although Touya sends her messages regularly, it’s no different than when she was living outside of the city. What worries her the most though is her mom. Touya says she’s ok, staying with her father; her brother joked that they were making up for lost time but still, she doesn’t understand how could her mom let her be shut away so easily. Maybe Touko is being too hard on her, after all, Touko’s father is the one pulling at the strings he must be the one keeping them apart.

She turns on her side and tightens the covers around her; school is different story.

Spending time with Kotone and Bianca is the highlight of her days. They both seem to be filled with limitless joy and Touko finds it contagious when being around them. She met Silver a few days ago, a tall red-haired boy close to Cheren’s age, and an attitude to match. He’s a big contrast to Kotone’s bubbly personality but the young man does appear to have a softer side when it’s about his fiancée.

She regrets having to hide the dog in the roof from them, but explaining her run in with N Harmonia would be another mess altogether and she had the tingling feeling the guy wouldn’t like her telling more people about his pet. Next time it could be her he’s throwing against the lockers at school.

It is with this thought that Touko decided that N could not be her childhood friend. Sure he’d had had a soft spot for animals but Touko realizes that basing her deduction in only that is an exaggeration, she choses to ignore their same hair color as well, surely there are more people with green hair in Unova, she just hasn’t been able to go out into the world before and that’s why she hasn’t met them. The boy she remembers had been shy and sweet but N, there is definitely something off about him. Their conversation on the roof wasn’t a been a bad experience but what alarms her is the difference he showed when he was threatening people, it felt wrong and not in the usual way. She sighs, maybe that’s the way all Yakuza are, she isn’t an expert on the subject so she wouldn’t know.

She closes her eyes, finally feeling the deepness of slumber creeping into her brain when a sound coming from outside her room makes her eyes shot open once again. She lifts herself up and listen closely, yes, those are steps outside in the hallway. She gets up and quickly runs to the room’s closet to find her jacket and grab the gun hidden in one of the shoe boxes. From outside a door has opened and the sound of a struggle going starts. To top it, the sound of a gun with a silencer is heard and small bullet sized hole appears in a wall near the room’s door.

She grits her teeth, _great_.

“Check the other room” a male voice says from where the racket is taking place outside, Touko immediately ducks under the bed in time to miss the intruder opening the door. She can only see the man’s feet, but she can tell he’s a burly type, she wouldn’t put up a fight with him but maybe she could incapacitate him. "She must be hiding here” the man says, probably eyeing the unmade bed she left behind, Touko’s heart falls to her stomach when she sees the man starting to kneel on the floor. She brings her gun forward and steadies herself, she’s never shot a living being before, only practicing with fixed targets but she knows all the vital points one should hit to end a life. She just has to hit any other place.

Before the man has a chance to take a look at her she’s put a bullet through his leg. The man falls back on his butt screaming and she rolls out from under the bed ready to shoot again before he can regain his composure. She aims at the hand holding his gun and shoots, the bullet finds its mark and the gun falls to the floor, the man tries going for it with his other hand but Touko fires a warning shot “Don’t think so” she tells him before grabbing the gun herself while keeping the man at gun point. Of course she won’t shoot him, she doesn’t dare, but the man doesn’t need to know that. She sticks the gun on the back of her shorts, and momentarily shivers at the contact of cold metal against her skin “Stay” she commands and bolts outside the door to find Cheren.

It looks like her friend had managed to move the fight out of the hallway and into the living room, a stray gun was left on the floor with its respective silencer attached. Touko promptly picks it up and with now three guns in her possession she confidently struts out to the open area that is the living room. The man Cheren’s fighting is smaller than the one she took down, still, he seems to be struggling. He catches her eye in a quick move and seems relieved "Stop!" she screams to catch the yakuza’s attention. When the man’s eyes land on the guns on her hand he steps away from Cheren holding his hands up. Her friend motions for her to hand him one of the guns, Touko is adamant to give Cheren the weapon, she didn’t kill her charge but he might, still she throws one of the guns at him.

He receives it with ease and points at their intruder “Exactly what do you think you’re doing?” Cheren asks. The man tsks “Nothing that will matter to you” Cheren lowers his gun and fires a warning shot near the man’s foot before returning to point at him “Try again” but the man only laughs “You think you scare me?” he looks Cheren up and down as if assessing him “This isn’t my first rodeo, you’re a kid compared to me” “Those are some shitty last words” Cheren tries again but the man only smiles, this time opting for silence and holding Cheren’s gaze. Almost unperceptively he turns to look at Touko, except she knows he isn’t looking at her but at something behind her.

She turns to find her thug creping on the floor holding a small pistol with his good hand, she moves just in time for the shot to miss and hit the couch instead. Cheren’s guy takes advantage of the distraction to put him in an arm lock but her friend is quick enough to turn the gun on his captor and shoot his brains out through his chin.

Her brain has no time to process the loud thud off a body falling in the apartments floor or the other pitter patters of the pieces of his skull raining on the floor because Cheren is already screaming at her in disbelief “You didn’t kill him?!” a second shot fires immediately, this time from Cheren’s hand towards the man on the floor making him drop the gun. In her panic she kicks it away and aims her own weapon towards him. Her heart is pounding almost in an unbearable way, and she is only now processing the ringing in her ears from the first shot being fired too close to her.

Cheren manages to position the gun in the whimpering man’s head "You didn't kill him" he repeats mumbling in disapproval "I'm not going to kill anyone" she spits out taking a step back, she’s not sure what too look at but she’s focusing in not turning her head to the body now lying in the living room floor a few steps away from her or the mess that was created prior to its fall. Cheren just glares at her, it looked like he was about to say something but instead he turns back to the man on the floor next to him. “Who sent you?” he asks. The man turns to Touko and then to Cheren “Like hell I’m telling you” Cheren then shoots him on his side, then man screams in pain and Touko can't help covering her mouth to suppress a scream. There’s blood, so much of it, leaking out of the man’s body and forming a pool around Cheren’s foot.

She doesn’t want this. She never did.

Cheren stands up and places his foot on the man’s face “You have about 10 minutes until you bleed out and die, 5 until you’ve lost enough blood to lose consciousness, I’d advise you to use that time wisely. Now, who sent you?" He asks coldly.

Her back hits a wall, she didn’t realize she was backing up from everything. She lets herself slide into a sitting position and holds her legs against herself. It’s not like she wasn’t expecting violence, she has to defend herself but this, this is torturing a man. She feels the cold metal of the guns against her body, she’d forgotten she was still holding them and immediately pulls the one on her back to drop both of them on the floor.

When the man doesn’t speak up Cheren pulls his foot off from his face leaving a bloody footprint on one of the man’s cheeks; he places his foot over the wound and presses hard. The man screams in pain and she can’t take it anymore.

“Enough!”

“Stay out of this Touko”

“He won’t talk, stop this!” Cheren won’t even look at her, he keeps pressing on the man’s wound.

"Tell me or you'll be dead in less than a minute"

The man’s breathing starts coming out faster, he shifts his eyes to her and it’s like something shifts inside them "Th-thr" the man starts to speak, Cheren presses harder “Speak up man” he warns, she stands up ready to push Cheren off "Get your foot off him!" she yells at him "Three gems!" the man finally says. He sounds out of breath and is looking straight at Touko as he speaks "Cynthia needs you" the man says and gradually Cheren steps back. _Why would someone need me?_ "What for?" the question escapes her lips, the man looks like he’s about to pass out as he speaks "It's Red, Gethis got him and he wants an exchange" Cheren sighs and lets his head fall forward “I’ll go call backup” then he turns to Touko “Get the first aid kit from under the tv” Touko quickly obliges and starts tending to the man’s wound on his back. He keeps quiet for the most part, except for a thank you once she’s done. Touko is not sure how to respond so she just nods. When Cheren gets back he has his phone in hand and turns to Touko "People are on their way” then he pulls her away.

“I think I know what’s going on” he starts “Red is the Rare Stones Yakuza leader, he’s also Cynthia’s fiancée" Cheren explains "If Cynthia were to be kidnapped Red has enough manpower under him to attempt a rescue and wouldn't negotiate, so there would be no use" Cheren explains “But Cynthia, she more analytical it probably seemed easier for her to get to you” Cheren scoff’s “That backfired on her, I hope she has a plan B on mind” Touko looks around the thrashed apartment, one dead and the other injured. Somehow it all seems to come back to her "Can't we do nothing to help?" she asks but Cheren only tuns to her alarmed, he can see the gears turning inside her head.

"This is not our business, there is no reason to help"

"But there isn’t a reason to _not_ help” Cheren motions all around the apartment "I’d say there is" “You killed one of them and I am fairly positive the man in the floor is not getting back up anytime soon” she hissed “I think we’re even” Cheren’s eyebrows furrow “You can’t seriously be comparing your life to th-” Touko walks away before he can finish talking "Then it's decided” she says loud enough for the man on the floor to listen “The White Dragon gang is helping rescue Red"

* * *

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?" Her father asks massaging a spot between his eyes right after she announced her decision. He isn't amused. "The Three Gem and Rare Stones are not allies, they are neutral gangs and move in completely different territories than us" he explains. Touko wants to give him points for not losing his composure. Yet. "So what right do you think you have to say we are helping them rescue their hostage?" she glares at the man across from her.

“It’s not just any hostage and I’m your daughter, I’d think that gives me some sort of authority here”

“You got here a bit over a week ago, you know next to nothing of how things are run here” he counters but Touko is nowhere near backing down

“This wouldn’t be happening if I had stayed away from Castelia” her voice comes out cold and slow “Besides it doesn’t affect your position in any way, if anything it’ll probably be beneficial, Cheren said Red doesn’t work for anyone but he’s still an important person in Yakuza business, wouldn’t you want him to owe you a favor?” but her father only shakes his head and closes his eyes. It looks as if he’s getting a migraine W _ell that’s sweet, it physically pains him to hold a conversation with me now_ she thinks to herself. Finally, the man sighs “Get out of here, I’ll see how I can clean your slip up” "What?" she is not leaving that easily “We have to help them! If Cynthia doesn’t turn me in they’ll kill Red” but her father doesn’t even look at her, instead he calls for Cheren to drag her out. _He won’t even listen to what I have to say_ “I did not want to tell you this” he starts “but all things considered, it’s equally beneficial for us if Red were to be put down” Touko can hardly believe what she’s hearing “You don’t me-” but Cheren is there to interrupt her. He grabs her by the arm and starts pulling her away towards the door "Wait, no!" her protests fall in deaf ears and once they cross the door she is ready to turn and let all her anger fall in Cheren.

"Let. Me. Go!" she screams as Cheren’s grip on her stomach tighten and he drags her further and further into the HQ. He stops in front of a room and struggles to open and close the door behind them. Once inside he lets her go and she promptly takes a step away before addressing him “Why didn’t you let me stay?! You are always at his beck and call!” she’s fuming and she can tell he’s worked up too from holding her down. Good. “Are you nuts?! He may be your father but he’s _my boss_ , not you" he points to her in an accusing way “And you, the moment I heard you tell that thug we’d help them I knew your father would never allow it, you were stupid to think he would listen to someone like you” “Someone like me? And what’s that supposed to mean?!” Cheren rolls his eyes “Did you not hear anything he told you? You don’t know how things work here!” he crosses his arms and seems to calm himself down.

They both came directly from his apartment to HQ where everyone was already awake to address the situation. The lack of sleep was not helping on the mood.

“You know he only brought you back to marry you off” he says and holds her down with a stare “The king does not preoccupy himself with what his pawns want” Touko glares back “Well I’m not a pawn” she remembers N’s words “I’m the fucking princess”

She can tell there’s a ghost of a smile in Cheren´s lips but he works well on hiding it “You heard what I told him” she continues in a lighter tone “Tell me, is that not a good enough reason to help?” Cheren scratches the back of his head. He’s trying to find a loophole, trying to work a way into making his boss the one on the right but there just isn’t a way “It usually would be” he starts, his voice turning back to his usually rational tone “But, your father offered Red an exclusivity deal last year but he turned it down”

“So it’s a pride thing?” Cheren shrugs “A grudge really, your father is probably thinking Red deserves this and Ghetsis must’ve predicted he wouldn’t be willing to help rescue Red, leaving Cynthia with the only other choice”

“So in a way, we’re playing into his hands?” Cheren shrugs again

“There’s no way your father is letting you out of his sight so this can only end with Red’s death”

“To Ghetsis he either gets me or gets to kill Red, either way he hurts us. It’s a win-win situation for him unless we help rescue Red” Cheren sighs but doesn’t argue with her “I don’t think you’re wrong but, like I said, you it’s not your call whether we help them or not” “Then I’ll make it be” it’s then that the door to their room opens revealing Touya on the other side bright smiles and all “Hey Tou! Hi Cheren! I heard you two were visiting” the two friends turn to look at each other. Touko with a knowing grin and Cheren sporting a doubtful smile.

* * *

After explaining the situation to her brother Touko was happy to see him agree to her reasoning “But dad is a resentful man, it’s gonna take a lot to convince him to move in”

“That’s where you come in” Touko explains containing her excitement “He won’t listen to me but he’ll pay attention to what his heir has to say” Touya shrugs “Well you’re not wrong” he seems to think about it for a moment before finally agreeing to pitch the idea to their father “I could use you’re help on it Cheren” he calls for her friend. The boy in glasses seems taken aback “Me?” Touya nods “Yeah, you’re basically Touko’s right hand man and since the two of them can’t be in proximity without fighting I think it would be better if you joined me talking to my dad”. Touko looks from Cheren to her brother, her friend seems to be about to faint from excitement “Y-yes, I’d be honored” she tries not to make her eyerolling too obvious and decides not to comment on his attitude _whatever gets the ball rolling_ she thinks.

The trio walks back to Jacob White’s office and Touko is left waiting outside while Touya plays his favorite son magic on their father.

Almost 20 minutes later the two boys come out of the office. Touya seems as calm as always but Cheren looks significantly less excited and she dares say a bit pale.

“What did he say?” she asks cautiously gaining a thumbs up from her brother “He agreed” he exclaims. Touko can’t help the summersault her heart does in her chest and she can feel her face glowing “I’ll call contact Cynthia’s people to work on the extraction. They should still be at the hospital near here” her brother continues “This was a great idea Tou” he congratulates her. Touko immediately hugs her brother “Thank you so much Touya” she squeezes him and she feels his hand patting her on the head softly “Hey don’t thank me yet” they both separate and she then turns to Cheren who seems to be stuck in his own world. Touko is about to call out to him when Touya grabs back her attention “Well I’ll be heading out, no time to loose” he bids both of them goodbye and walks towards the exit.

She turns back to Cheren “Are you ok?” her friend nods slowly “Yeah, just…” he trails of, a bad feeling starts creeping into her chest “Just what?” Cheren looks around and motions her to follow him “c’mon, we should head back to the apartment” Touko follows him closely, past the house, but she realizes something must be really wrong when they go past the parking lot and even some blocks further away from the house.

“Why are we this far?” Touko finally stops “Did something happen in there?” Cheren finally turns to look at her “I guess this is far enough” he purses his lips “I just don’t want people getting the wrong idea” Touko waits for him to explain “Your father wasn’t getting on board with your arguments, but then Touya offered to be in charge of the whole operation. It’s not that I don’t think Touya is capable of leading it, I just wasn’t expecting him to add me to the roster” Touko stares at him with a confused expression “I thought you wanted to make a name for yourself in The White Dragon. Is this you being excited?” Cheren laughs almost hysterically “Right, you don’t know” and the way he says it reminds her that **_she doesn’t know how things work around here_** “Touya is a kind of hands-on person” he starts explaining “When he’s in charge of things, he is the one doing them and _this_ … I’m confident in my abilities but Touya is on a different level and infiltrating Harmony is a job I’m not ready for”.

Touko isn’t sure what she’s supposed to address first.

The implication that her brother is the kind of person who puts himself willingly in the middle of yakuza work or her friends clear fear of dying in the middle of it. She chooses the latter “Why don’t you refuse it?” Cheren only shakes his head “I can’t, it’s really an honor to serve under his direct command. One could even argue he’s showing he thinks highly enough for me to work by his side” “But you don’t want it” “It’s not my choice!” his eyes widen realizing he’d screamed at her for nothing “I’m sorry, I just need the idea to sit in. I’ll be ok” except now she isn’t feeling ok. Her father controls people into doing his bidding and she is not going to let Touya follow on those footsteps.

“I’ll talk to him” she says placing a hand over his shoulder “Touya will understand” Cheren doesn’t seem convinced “I don’t think that’s a good idea” “You don’t know him like I do, he’s my brother” “Touko I don’t think you know him that well” to this she takes a step back, Cheren bites his lip “You’ve never seen him working here, in Castelia” Touko glares at him “And you have?” she counters “You just said you’ve never worked with him before” but Cheren insists, as if he’s breaking bad news toa child “I’m not stupid Touko” she won’t take this “I’ll talk to Touya right now, the hospital where Cynthia’s people are isn’t too far” “I’ll go wit-” “No” Cheren looks warily at her “It’s not far and this our territory, I’ll go alone” Cheren has a conflicted look to him but before he can say anything else she starts walking away from him.

Cheren is being an ass, she’s offering to help him even though he deserves going to that mission. This is what he signed up for after getting his brand and now he’s backing up? But she’s going to talk to Touya about it, she knows her brother and she knows Cheren. He’s using Touya’s position as an heir to make up those things about him so he won’t look like a coward in front of everyone and she is not letting that happen. She’ll prove him wrong.

Before she realizes she’s out in a busy street, too preoccupied with what she’s supposed to tell her brother about Cheren to notice she’d missed the way to the hospital. She keeps walking, it seems the further she goes the crowded it gets. The night had turned to morning and now early risers were out jogging or on their way back home from a night shift. She’s hoping to find a sign pointing her in the direction of the hospital but it doesn’t look like she’ll have such luck.

Finally she sidesteps into an alley to get a break from the city’s mass of people "Well well well" she hears a man’s voice say from behind her. Next thing she knows there is a knife held to her neck and a hand twisting her arms behind her back "I knew that was Jacob’s little daughter wondering around looking all lost" the knife feels cold against her skin and right then and there she could swear she’s about to die, her heart is pounding again, the lack of sleep and stress is getting to her “There’s a big price on your head kiddo" the man hisses next to her ear "I don't know what you’re talking about" she responds with an unnaturally trembling voice "Well you should if you’re gonna be strolling around the city without your escort" he doesn’t give her time to retort before he starts pushing her forward. The man positions himself next to her and wraps his arm around her shoulders, he maneuvers the knife so it’s hidden from plain sight and starts walking out of the alley. From the corner of her eye she tries to look up at her captor but it’s hard distinguishing anything clearly “Stay still girl” the man whispers “We don’t want a scandal in the middle of the city this early”

Touko keeps walking with the man at his neck for what feels like an eternity, she can’t help feeling disappointed on herself for being reckless like this. Cheren is going to have a field day when he hears about this, she can already picture him in her head, _that is if I do get out of this_.

How is she supposed to run away on her own if she can’t even handle herself away from her father’s protection for 5 minutes? She needs to stall for some time, surely when Touya got back from the hospital they would realize something had happened to her on her way and then things would be settled. But how long would that take?

“People are already looking for me you know?" she says to the man “It won’t be long before they find you” her captor only grunts and keeps walking “Don’t worry, we’re almost in our final destination” Touko looks around, the area doesn’t look particularly sketchy or less crowded than any other so Touko feels slightly confused. They hadn’t even walked very far; Was the Harmony group really working under her father’s nose?

They finally turn a corner and Touko sees a door with a small sign announcing the name of the establishment, **Plasma** it read. She’d heard of the chain of bars around Unova, they weren’t particularly big or flashy but they started popping up in major cities. It looks like a discrete place, the kind that is hidden at plain sight. Outside the establishment, parked a few steps away from the entrance there was a jet-black motorcycle with its respective rider sitting on top of it browsing through something on his phone probably waiting for someone, their face hidden by a black helmet.

When the rider spots them he stands from his sitting spot and walks towards them. Her captor makes them stop and Touko can feel the knife digging deeper into her skin, a warning for her to stay still "Can I help you?" her captor says but the rider does not answer and simply starts taking of his helmet. The first thing she sees coming out is tea green hair.

She’s not sure whether to feel alarmed or relieved. N might’ve acted civilly in school but that was before his father had put a price on her head. Waiting is the only way to find out. It appears she isn't the only one with mixed feelings about the young man in front of them "Sorry N" her captor apologizes with an uncertain tone "I thought someone else was in charge of waiting at the rendezvous” N turns to her and then to the man “There was a slight change" his voice is as melodic as always but seems hollow and cold, it sends chills through her spine "I see, weird that your father didn’t send out a notice" Touko feels the grip around her shoulders tighten, _What’s going on here?_ “If you have a problem with how he runs things take it up with him” N stuffs his free hand inside his jackets pocket and walks closer to them “I’ll take her off your hands now” but the man quickly steps behind her and adopts a defensive position “What are you doing kid?” he hisses, now the knife pressed to her neck in plain sight “You think I can’t see the gun inside your pocket?” N sighs and grimaces, but rather than anger his expression seemed disappointed “I was hoping to do it the easy way” suddenly she felt the knife dig deeper into her skin making her let out a small whimper, N stops but he doesn't look too worried "I’m not sure what you want with this girl that’s worth even going against Ghetsis but you’re not dragging me into it” the man says and starts walking towards the pub, trying to go around N “You’re going to let me turn her in and walk away with my money in exchange I won’t tell your father about this little stunt you’re trying to pull on me, fix your daddy issues at home”

N follows them with his eyes as they approach the entrance, she can’t help looking at him. Her people weren’t going to get here in time, N is the best option she has of escaping the situation. After focusing in her captors movements, she realizes in his alarm the thug had loosened his grip on her, she positions herself and promptly steps on his toes with her talon. The man wails and steps back dragging the knife through her collarbone when stepping back. She brings her hand up to cover her wound and in between all the confusion N takes out the gun and shoots him.

The body falls to the ground with a thud followed by the sound of clattering metal the knife makes when it hits the floor. She takes a step back still holding her wound and sure enough the man is laying on the ground with a bullet sized hole on his forehead. She starts taking in deep breaths trying to calm herself down, she can’t panic with an open cut that deep _How many bodies is too many bodies to see in less than 12 hours?_

"We have to go now" N's urgent voice interrupts her thoughts, he’s already on the back of his motorcycle and stuffing his messy hair inside his helmet “I-” “There are more of my father’s people inside the pub, and you need to get that thing treated” he says motioning to the red blotches starting to appear on her shirt “We need to go. Now.” Touko nods and he helps her get on the back of the vehicle, without waiting too much time he drives away to take her who knows where.

* * *

He passes some stop signs and has to get on the sidewalk at one point alarming some pedestrians but they get to Castelia city department buildings pretty fast. He parks in the underground parking lot and directs her to the old elevator. “How’s your wound?” he asks once he presses the button to the last floor, she presses her hand deeper against her chest. “It’s fine” N knows it’s not fine but he doesn’t push “I have some things you can use to treat it” Touko only nods "What were you doing out at this time of the morning?" he asks making her look up to him. "Sorry, can’t tell you" she says in a polite tone. Guess it was something to do with her gang. The elevator finally opens and they walk into an abandoned hallway.

Castelia departments were the oldest departments in the whole city and the elevator was the newest thing they had. They don’t have air conditioning or cable so business was pretty low but that was exactly why he’d chosen the studio on the top floor here. They walked through the hallway until N stops at the familiar stairs and motions her to lead the way “Where are you taking me exactly?” she finally asks. He motions to the cut on her neck running down to her left shoulder “Somewhere we can treat that, discretely” this doesn’t seem to satisfy her but she starts climbing the stairs until they arrive to the slide doors that lead to his studio.

"Come on in" he says after opening the door "You live here?" Touko asks as she walks in and looks around the place "No" he answers walking past her towards the kitchen and searching the cabinets for some bandages and alcohol "It's more of a relaxing place my father doesn't know about".

Touko can relate to that of course. N gives up looking for the first aid kit, it has been a long time since he needed it “Stay here, I think the bandages are in my bathroom” she nods and walks further into the studio to look around. The only thing she can see is a bare mattress pushed near one window, after getting closer she realizes it’s overlooking an empty alleyway and sighs in disappointment. She’s not sure what she was expecting, maybe a nice apartment like Cheren’s, still the studio seems fitting to a person like N. It reminds her of her own rooms when she was living with her mom, only the bare necessities. It doesn’t really matter though, he said he doesn’t live here. When she takes a step back her foot kicks on something that’s stuck underneath N’s made-up bed. She bends down to pick it up and finds it’s an eerily familiar book. It’s small with a dark red cover, the pages are thick _it’s an album_ Touko realizes much to her dismay. She looks up towards the bathroom where N is still looking for the bandages, she bites her lip. She’s tempted to open the book, look at what’s inside and set her doubts to rest but she’s not sure she knows what she wants to find. Does she want to see her old friend again? Sure. Does she want to learn her old friend is actually some criminal now? Maybe always had been? Not at all. She toys with the album still on her hand, she can just leave it on the floor and pretend like she never saw it, it’s then that she realizes that maybe N brought her here so she would find the book. Does he know who she is? Has he always known? 

N chooses that moment to emerge from his bathroom “Found them” he says holding a cardboard box with his medicine kit in one hand but stops short when he sees her with the book. She quickly extends it to him “Sorry, it was on the floor and I almost stepped on it” N leaves the box in the kitchen counter and takes his photo album back. He looks at her warily wondering if she had time to open and see its content, maybe she’d picked it up because she recognized the cover? He realizes he’s been silent for too long so he motions to the kit “Can you fix yourself up?” she seems eager to do anything else so she promptly reaches for the box and sits in one of the stools “Yeah, don’t worry”. He leaves her to patch herself up on her own while he stores the album in the kitchen cabinets.

Touko knows how to address her own wounds, another thing her mom taught her. She cleans the dry blood away and wraps her neck with some bandages, the wound that’s lower near her clavicle she covers with some medical patches that are also inside the kit. As she works her way through it all she throws some looks to N. He closes the cabinet door where he stored the book, he seems very protective of it, Touko is sure that book can only be the photo album she gifted her old friend. Her mother had forbidden her from taking photos of herself for security reasons, of course she as a child was not aware of the complete risk that entailed so she’d gifted the photo album her mother had gotten her along with the polaroid camera to him, so he could keep all the photos hidden from her mother. She knows she’d basically used him as storage but now it seems the photo album is what could connect the dots. She also wonders if he’d been looking at the album recently, maybe he suspected something too? Everything looks so obvious to her now.

N is itching to ask the question. He’s not sure how does one go about asking a stranger if they’re his old childhood friend so he decides on sticking with the thing connecting them “Did you look inside it?” he walks back to where she’s treating herself “No, no” she hesitates “I was just looking around” he leans next to her by the counter “It was a gift from an old friend” he explains.

Touko nods but says nothing, he’s clearly digging for clues, this could be the perfect time reveal herself _Reveal myself? As if I’m some sort of magic trick. I must be going delusional with all that’s happened_. "Why are you helping me?" she asks, deciding on changing the subject "Why do you think I helped you?" she can’t help rolling her eyes “Can you please answer the question?” to this he looks away “You remind me of my old friend” Touko’s eyes dart back to the cabinet where the photo album is stored.

N sighs, there can’t be any harm with what he’s about to do “Let me be straightforward” he says “I believe you are my old friend” Touko immediately stands "I should leave" she can practically see N’s heart sink from the look in his eyes "Why?" He asks and Touko can feel the difference in his tone, there’s the melody alright but a hint of desperation lacing it. What would telling him the truth imply? Would it make things better? Would it make things worse? She can’t help thinking how much he looks like his younger self when he has that expression. She thinks about Cheren, she thinks about Touya, about Kotone, about the relationships she has with them.

“I just don’t think we should be having this conversation” she finally says “Thank you for basically saving me but, your father is the one after my head. Would it really make a difference if we knew each other from years ago?” N’s not sure what he’s feeling, it’s as if all the emotions he knows are clashing inside his chest “I know it would make a difference to me” he takes a deep breath “I’ve never had another friend besides her, besides you. I would like to have that friend back now”

Her heart melts. How is it supposed to not melt when he talks like that? She’s barely able to hold his gaze, the way he’s silently pleading for her. She’s not sure what he wants with her, she has friends already, she doesn’t need another Yakuza friend; least of all the son of her enemy. But she does miss the only normal friend she ever had, and he missed her too. Besides, she has her own project pending and maybe a guy like him being on her side wouldn’t be too bad.

“Alright” she finally speaks again and extends her hand at him “It’s good to see you again Gropius” the smile that grows in his face feels to big to contain. He takes her hand and pulls her in for a hug “Hilda!” and he knows there was nothing missing in his life before but it’s like his pieces fit better with her there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was really fun to write the first fight scene, I hope I did an ok job at it. In the original fic there was another ToukoxCheren make out session but it was not necesary anymore and now I can confidently say there will be no more CherenxTouko stuff in this fic any more.
> 
> Next chapter will be much shorter because of the kind of chapter it is. Won't give more spoilers than that tho, as always thankyou for reading!!


	5. Their Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we have Natural's and Hlda's story

There was nothing exciting about going to elementary school for a young Natural Harmonia. It’s been a year since his father sent him here, to Lacunosa town, so he could _learn what was needed of him_ his father had said. He was eager to learn of course and a bit nervous of being away from home. His father never let him leave their house in Castelia so moving away was a great change for him; nevertheless, he didn’t protest, his father didn’t like it when he protested. After his first year of attending school, he’d had some unpleasant encounters with other students, it didn’t help that he was the older of his class being enrolled almost two years late. With his wild green hair and quiet demeanor, it was needless to say his classmates found him a bit on the odd side. His father had sent him away from the city to _become a better son;_ he could only hope making friends wasn’t a quality his father would take in account for a good son.

The two women taking care of him, Anthea and Concordia, reassured him that it did not matter so Natural stopped trying, it only brought trouble to himself anyway. Instead, he focused in his classes, both at school and at home to become a _better son_ , because only then could he return home to Castelia with his father where he belonged, to be a correct family. For the mean time the two women were his family, his father had called them his sisters but Natural was not so sure of that. He didn’t understand quite well how they were related to him but his father had insisted saying they would take care of him for as long as he needed and to treat them as his _loving family_.

The sisters doted on him constantly, proof of it was his homemade bento boxes he always brought to school. Today’s box was filled with home-made food, onigiri balls filled with sweet pork, a side salad with baby carrots, a serving of strawberries with small cheddar cheese cubes and as dessert a small package of matcha pokeys, his favorites. He’d picked a perfect spot for eating his lunch: under the school yard’s tree, it gave him a perfect view of the whole playground, all things considered coming to school wasn’t too bad.

“Whatcha eating Grubby?”

Then there were the bigger kids. Natural turns to see the group approaching, three of the biggest kids on the playground who’d found him interesting enough to pick on since his first days in school “Hey! I asked you a question Grubby” the middle kid says when he’s directly in front of him, Natural wasn’t sure whether they called him Grubby on purpose or had just misheard his name the first time he’d introduced himself. He’s not brave enough to correct them either way, his mouth quivers and unconsciously presses his lunch tighter against his stomach. The kid, who’s name Natural never asked then proceeds to take the lunch box from him and look through it. Natural protests and reaches his hand to try and grab it back but the other two push him down into his sitting spot. He miserably looks as his lunch is devoured until only the matcha pokeys are left. He knows the lunch-taker doesn’t like the matcha pokeys. “These things are so gross” the kid says “You should ask for better candy next time Grubby” then he throws the empty box back at him. Natural feels the tears forming in his eyes; it’s not the first time something like this happens, he revels on the days the trio is too busy playing or tormenting other kids to notice him but the still it doesn’t make the situation any less unbearable. He tries to calm himself down _crying won’t solve anything_ his father used to say, and it usually didn’t, it would only make him angrier.

“Are you crying Grubby?” the boy says, and Natural thinks he’s imagining the hint of panic in his voice before he feels himself be picked up by his shirt collar and held against the tree trunk “Are you crying?!” the kid is hissing in his face and Natural tries really hard to hold the tears back but the pain on his back from the bark digging into his skin doesn’t help “Are you gonna tell on me Grubby? You think that’s a smart thing to do?” Natural takes a deep breath trying to still himself but it comes out as a sob. His assailant’s eyes widen “You can’t tell on me Grubby!” Natural stares with wide eyes as the kid pulls his fist back ready to strike _I’ll give you something to cry about_ Natural closes his eyes in preparation for the impending pain and wonders how is he going to explain a black eye to his two caretakers back at home.

“Stop!”

The punch doesn’t come so Natural opens his eyes again, and turns to where the scream came from. His savior is a small girl, Natural hadn’t seen her before so he could only assume she had to be new.

“Get out of here kid, I don’t hit little girls” the kid says still holding on to Natural’s shirt but the girl only gets closer “What are you doing?” she scolds. They all felt taken back “Hey kid, I think your teacher is calling you” one of the other boys says trying to get rid of her but the girl doesn’t bude “I’m not stupid you know?” she says crossing her arms then turning back to the boy holding Natural “My mom told me kids like you are called bullies and that if I see one I should call a teacher” Natural felt the hold on his shirt loosen and the boys took a step back “Fine” the kid mumbles before leaving to torment someone else.

Once they were gone Natural turned to his savior and realized if not for her voice and uniform he could hardly tell she was a girl. She looked younger than him, which was impressive considering she stood up to his bullies “Th-thanks for that” he mumbles. She had kept glaring at the retreating form of the group before turning back to him with a bright smile, the brightest smile he had ever seen “Are you ok?” she asked immediately “Don’t worry, my mom says only not smart people are mean to others” she lifts her hand and starts patting him on his shoulder.

Natural wasn’t sure what he felt at the moment, but it was warm and it grew from inside his chest and through his whole body, he thought it was strange for someone to take a risk for his sake without knowing him at all and it was stranger how good he felt about it.

“Oh no!” the girl says with a worried expression “You’re crying!” Natural rubs his eyes with the back of his palm “Oh, yeah” he mumbles “Are you sure you’re ok? Is it because of your lunch? I can share mine if you want. My mom says no one should stay hungry for too long or it could get them in a bad mood” as the girl kept rambling on she took him by the arm and forced him to sit back down on his spot under the tree. He felt himself be in a trance just listening to her talk while she pulled out her own lunch box and offered him half of her food, he couldn’t help the tears that kept rolling from his eyes. He was a whole head taller than her and it probably looked ridiculous to anyone else, seeing a six year old kindergartner trying to console a tall eight year old boy. “Oh! My name is Hilda by the way. What’s yours?” Natural sobbed again “Gr-Gropius” Natural answered with the name his caretakers had ingrained on him to use in town “Well nice to meet you gro-pi-us” Hilda said his name slowly, as if trying to get each syllable right and Natural wondered if she would do the same with his real name, a part of knew she would.

* * *

"Grooooooopius!" he looks up from his same spot under the tree, two years have passed since meeting her and the tree has turned into their usual lunching spot. Hilda never stopped looking for him during their lunch breaks. He’s not sure if she has no other friends or if she’s just spending time with him so he doesn’t get picked on. Still Natural doesn’t complain, he’s discovered he actually likes having a friend.

"What did your sisters pack you today Gropius?" He promptly shows his friend the cute lunchbox Anthea and Concordia prepared him, they’ve improved their craftmanship they would make cute animal look-a-likes with his rice “Aww your sisters are really good at making you lunch” she turns to her own pack, Hilda didn’t usually bring home made food, it looked like her mother preferred to buy some premade meals although sometimes she’d bring dinner leftovers “I wished my lunchbox was as cute as yours” Natural smiled sheepishly and ruffled her hair, it was as short and messy as the day they’d met “Well I wish I could have some of your snacks for lunch” Hilda seemed to think about this for a moment until arriving to a conclusion “Want to share?”

This had become their routine of sorts, and Natural was so happy to spend time with his friend.

She had told him her mom didn’t let her out to play much so that was the reason they couldn’t see each other after school or during breaks. Natural in exchange explained how he was in a similar situation at his home so in a way they ended in a perfect arrangement. As he grew older his afternoons started filling with language sessions, self-defense class with his sisters and finally weapon training. The sisters were always carrying guns with themselves, and he remembered his father placing his weapons in the kitchen table after when he got back from work so it made perfect sense to him that he’d need to learn how these machines worked _it’s all part of becoming a good son_.

"I brought something my dad sent me Gropius" She loved saying his name at the end of every sentence. He’d told her a lot of people mispronounced it so after learning how to say it properly she just wouldn’t let go of it. "What is it?" he asks while Hilda looks inside her bag. When she turns around she throws her arms around his neck in a hug "Smile Gropius!" she says; he looks up to find an instant camera in her hands aimed at them.

After the camera spit out the image Hilda eagerly shook it the way her mother had taught her to reveal it. Natural couldn't help but be curious about it so I looked over her shoulder to get a glimpse. His face was a mess of a confused expression but Hilda was smiling as bright as always "Here, hold it Gropius!" she gave him the picture and went back to search for more things in her bag, not long after she pulls out a book. She motions for him to hand her the picture and he gladly obliges, she opened the book and that’s when Natural realizes it’s a picture book; she slipped the picture between the plastic protectors of the first page before closing it and handing it to him “You have to keep it for me Gropius” she said and he was too absorbed in the gift that he received that he didn’t bother asking for an explanation.

* * *

"Hey Grubby!" the voice made loud alarms go off inside Natural’s head. It had been years since he last encountered these kids, they hung around Hilda and him sometimes, as if waiting for an opening to hurt them. He knew it was unfair to his friend, he couldn’t depend on her like that and today was the sole proof of it. “Looks like you’re alone today” the biggest one says.

He keeps quiet still, his lunch already forgotten. He still feels a nervous but now at 11 and after training with his sisters for some years he felt more confident in his ability to stand up for himself. “What happened to the little monster?” they teased stopping in front of him “Did she finally get tired of hanging around you?” Natural only held his gaze, he only needs to intimidate them and they’ll leave him alone but the lack of response seemed to displease the older kid “I bet she did, it must be sad that not even a freak like her would want to hang around you Grubby” to this Natural does react. He knew Hilda was sick at home, he knew this because the day before she had been showing all the symptoms of a common cold and he’d been careful to not get infected. What he reacted to was this kid calling her a freak.

“She’s not a freak” he mumbles without thinking and it’s the only thing his bully needs to know what bone to pick. A Devilish smile spreads in the child’s face “Sure she is!” they start “I heard my little sister say she makes weird drawings on her notebook” another one said “Plus she’s bald, I bet there’s something wrong in her head that makes her pull her hair out!” the third one adds “That’s why her hair never grows out!” the three boys laughed in unison “She always acts so tough but I bet she’s a big crybaby” the first one says “Next time we see her she’ll be sorry she ever messed with us, we’ll make her cry so hard everyone will know what a coward she is!” the longer the boys talked the angrier he felt. It was weird to feel this way, he wasn’t used to it but his brain seemed to know exactly how to get rid of the unpleasant sensation.

Before any of them could react he was already punching the closest one in the nose. Blood quickly stained the kids face and the other two were too stunned to do anything. “She’s not a freak!” he screamed catching the attention of the playground teachers who quickly arrived to separate the two fighting children. He’d gotten called to the principal’s office, and his sisters had arrived shortly after and taken in on the lecture from the older woman in charge of the school. He didn’t care tho. Hilda had stepped in to defend him before, it was only right for him to do the same for her; but his sisters did not share his line of thought.

“He’s never acted like this before” Anthea insisted in a worrisome tone that night, when they thought he was already asleep. “Ghetsis won’t like this” Concordia agreed “This wasn’t supposed to happen” Natural could hear the blonde woman pacing in the kitchen “Are we doing something wrong? Should we work harder on making him happy?”

“It’s been five years Concordia, I thought he had a different way of expressing affection but this…”

“And who is this Hilda girl? He’s never mentioned her before. I thought he didn’t have friends”

“Maybe she’s not real? After living alone with Ghetsis for so long it wouldn’t be surprising if he had an imaginary friend”

This is why he never mentioned school to them, it was making them worry, he was acting ungratefully to the sisters, he had to come clean. Natural stepped out of his hiding place in the stairs, both sisters froze when seeing him “She is real” he told the women “Natural what are you doing awake? It’s late” Anthea tried to persuade him to leave “She’s real, I can prove it” the two sisters looked at each other as if deciding what to do with him. He’s never seen that look on their faces, they’ve never seemed concerned for him this way, it doesn’t sit right with him. He climbs the stairs o his room and grabs the picture book for them to see “Look” he hands it to them after going back down. Both women pale when looking through the pictures “Natural these are photos from years ago” Anthea says “Hilda is my best friend and those kids were going to hurt her! I couldn’t let that happen” he starts explaining “She makes me so happy… I’ll do anything to make her happy too!”

The sisters forbid him from talking about Hilda again, they confiscated the picture book and warn him to stay away from the girl but Hilda had showed him uninterested kindness the day they met, she kept doing it for years and he would not repay her in a sour way. Besides, it was hard to not be attracted to her daring aura, she reminded him of everything he was not, brave, selfless, loved.

Natural couldn’t understand why he should stay away from her; he couldn’t understand what he was getting Hilda into. He had gotten used to his life in Lacunosa by then and had forgotten why it was that he was there. So it was a rude awakening when a few days before his thirteenth birthday the sisters sat him down to talk.

“Your father will be coming in a few days” Anthea started and Natural felt a shiver run down his spine, he hadn’t seen his father in a long time but the fear was ingrained into him in a deep part of his brain “My father?” he repeated “Why?” he could tell the sisters wanted to make it sound as good news but it seemed even they were scared of the impending guest “He is coming to take you back to Castelia city” Natural’s heart was pounded. Back to Castelia? Back home? “Father thinks I’m ready to go back?” the two sisters nod “We’ve taught you all we know; he’ll be in charge of the rest of your training back in Castelia” Natural nodded. He knew this day would come, every afternoon training with the sisters, studying, practicing. It was all directed to him returning to Castelia, to his father. He’s not sure how to feel about the situation, he knows he should be happy; a part of him _is_ happy, but he’s also scared “We think it would be better if you stopped going to school now” Anthea says. He looks at her with alarm “there’s no point in you still going, there are more productive things we could do here at home to prepare for your trip” Natural bites his lip.

“But Hilda…”

“You kept seeing her?” Concordia asks softly, mortification lacing her voice

“Natural your father sent you here to study and train not to make friends with the locals” Anthea starts, always the stricter of the two sisters “We allowed you to keep going to school because we thought you were smarter than this, you are going to be a leader to the Harmony group, you have to leave- ”

“But she’s my friend!”

“She’ll get over this, she’s just a child”

“But I want to see her again”

“You’re putting her life in danger Natural!” Concordia interrupts.

Silence reigned in the dinner table as Natural tries to understand “What?”

Concordia sighed “You have to trust us Natural, it would be best for her if you stay away” “But she needs me…” “She’ll make new friends” “No! I’m her only friend, she _needs_ me” “Nat- ” “What if she comes with me?” it was a simple request, but Natural was not aware what he was really asking, what he was implying “You don’t mean that Natural” Anthea started “I do! I’ll ask fath-” “No!” Concordia interjects again “You won’t mention her to your father” then she turned to her sister “He can’t know about her, about this” “But-” “Look, Natural, there’s something else you should know” “Concordia” Anthea hissed stopping her sister, then turned to address the boy across from her “This discussion is over, your father will be here in three days and you won’t leave this house until then”

Natural did try leaving the house the following days but the sisters were relentless, they locked everything and never left him alone in a room. He didn’t mention Hilda again just like they’d instructed but he thought about her through the day, he wondered what she would be feeling, if she was missing him, if she was worried for him. He wondered if she was ok without him. He knows she’s stronger than she looks, she has the personality of a firecracker and she’s never afraid to use it. Maybe Anthea and Concordia were right about her not needing him, maybe he was the one who needed her.

The day of his thirteenth birthday was bound to be memorable. He woke up to Concordia calling for an early breakfast, they wished him a happy birthday as they always did and gave him a tight hug. He’d been angry at the sisters for the past days and he was intent on not forgiving them just yet, they’d separated him from his dear friend, his only friend and he wanted them to feel just how upset he was. He knew it was a childish thing to do, he was smarter than this, smarter than a tantrum but at the moment it was all he could do. They didn’t speak for much for much of the day, he had combat training with them and it helped him let go of some of his anger.

Through the years it had become easier to beat the sisters, even going against both of them at once. He guessed it was proof of how much he’d improved “You’re father will be very proud” Concordia tried praising him. He hoped he was, despite what Anthea had told him he was planning on asking his father about Hilda, maybe after all these years and when he saw how Natural had grown he would concede him this one request.

His father arrived on the verge of the evening. Natural had forgotten how tall he was, Natural had grown well, but his father was over a head taller than him; his single red eye regarded Natural as if analyzing a particularly expensive piece of merchandise “You’ve grown” were his greetings. He then Directed his attention to the sisters and asked a report on Naturals progress, Natural only felt more nervous my the second.

Five years apart had made him forget just how intimidating his father was, he’d been young, too young when living with him but seeing him again it was like a dormant part of his brain was starting to wake up and remind him that he needed to please the man in front of him.

“Leave us” Ghetsis ordered the sisters who, with one last look at Natural walked out the door. He fought the voice in his head that begged him to ask them to stay, if only for a second longer but as soon as he opened his mouth they were gone.

“Take a seat son” his father motioned for one of the living room chairs. Natural was sure his father had never been in the house before but he acted as if the place and everything in it belonged to him, including Natural.

“The sisters tell me you are excelling in your training” he starts taking a seat across from him “This was of course expected from you but it still makes me proud. You are already old enough to come back to Castelia and start learning how to be useful to our organization” the man in front of him crosses one of his long legs over the other and rests back proud. There is a smugness in his tone of voice as if he knew something no one else did “You’ll have an important role to play and I’m sure you won’t disappoint me” Natural gulped and nodded. Somehow he knew he had to do whatever it takes to not disappoint him. Ghetsis smiled and placed his hands together pleased with the non-verbal answer “Now then, your first task will be to complete your initiation rite”

“Initiation rite?” Natural had never heard of an initiation rite, but then again the sisters had never elaborated on his father’s job besides explaining what a Yakuza leader was.

Ghetsis nodded “Everyone in our organization must do this to join, and you and me, as their leaders must set an example” Ghetsis leans closer to look at him with his piercing red eye “You understand this, right Natural?” the boy nodded again “Good” His father then pulled his gun out of the holster where he was carrying it and placed it on the coffee table between them.

“You must kill the person dearest to you”

Natural’s eyes widened and darted from the gun to his father’s face “What?” his voice sounded unsure and his father’s eye twitched “It is just as I said Natural” the older man stood up “Before joining us you must cut yourself from anything holding you back. Loving someone holds you back son, this is why we get rid of the people we love” Natural suddenly understood why his sisters were against his father knowing about Hilda. They were aware of this requirement and knew she would be the target “But-” “I know it will be difficult son” Ghetsis interrupted him, his face was set in a frown now “Choose one of them, and choose wisely. I have some business to attend to, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. I expect you to have made a choice by then” those were his last words before leaving the house.

It took Natural another moment to realize his father had been talking about Anthea and Concordia.

By the time the two sisters came back inside the boy was a crying mess, he hadn’t even dared to touch the gun and it still lay motionless in the middle of the table. The first to approach him was Concordia, she wrapped her arms around him and ran her hand over his hair soothingly “It’s ok Natural, don’t cry” he could hear her cooing; Anthea only stood from afar looking at the scene, her face unreadable.

“You knew” he said once he’d calmed down enough to speak “You knew about this” his anger at them long forgotten “We’ve all done it Natural” Anthea explained. She pulled on her long sleeve to show him her left arm, just above the elbow line there was a black G clef tattooed “You will too” her words seemed to hold a finality to them “I won’t kill you. Neither of you” he turned to both of them with swollen eyes from crying “He’ll kill us either way” Anthea continued calmly, as if she’d rehearsed the speech a million times before

“We came here knowing one of us would die. We owe our life to Ghetsis and this is how we will repay him”

“I won’t do it!”

“It’s not a choice”

“He doesn’t have to do it” Concordia was still holding on to him, tightly; Natural though this was how a mother would hold her child “We were much older than him when our initiation took place” Concordia continued staring at her sister “He’s a child Anthea!” Anthe tsked, she didn’t dare look at him

“Ghetsis will kill us anyway”

“That’s fine, I told you I was ready to die long ago, I just don’t see why he has to be the one to pull the trigger”

The next day the three of them prepared their plan, Natural wanted to believe the whole ordeal was strange and twisted nightmare but when he woke up on the day his father was to arrive he still felt sick. In the living room, the gun his father had left still sat on the table, waiting for it to be used. Natural didn’t eat much over breakfast, he’d been vomiting the day before almost at every hour and he could still feel some residue nausea.

The three of them started packing their things and cleaning the house, he could hear the two women chatting from his room. It scared him how calm they were, but it made sense to him; both of them had kept the secret of their impending deaths from him for five years. They had learned to live with their lives hanging over their heads for so long.

After cleaning everything up Concordia took a shower, she put on an old dress and came down “I don’t want to stain my other clothes” she explained half-heartedly but neither of them responded to her joke. Natural felt the tears start forming again and before he could help it he threw himself at her “I’m sorry” he sobbed into her shoulder “I’m so sorry” he held on to her sleeves Concordia only ran her hands through his back and whispered soothing words into his ear.

He was almost as tall as she was, almost a man but still a child.

“It’s going to be ok Natural, everything will be over quickly”

“I don’t want you to-”

“It’s ok Natural, I’ll always be here, inside you” she said pointing to his chest “When we love someone we give them a part of ourselves, and it’s kept right here in your heart” She stared deeply into his eyes as she spoke and Natural was surprised to see how sure she was of herself “I’ve never stopped loving you so that part will now stay with you forever” She gave him one last hug before going into the training room and all Natural could think was how brave she looked. Anthea lingered outside, she was wearing delicate cotton gloves and her face was wet from tears “We’ll be ok” she told him without meeting him “I think she always hoped it would be her”

Anthea picked up the gun from the coffee table and followed her sister inside the room before closing the door. Natural stood there, in the place where Concordia had left him, crying silently and waiting, he tried focusing on the nausea inside his stomach, tried holding it in, tried to focus on the sound of the clock, the wind or anything that could distract him from what was about to happen in the room. Still nothing seemed be enough when he heard the gun go off and the silent thud of a body hitting the floor.

Natural felt himself fall to the ground and let his head fall to the floor. He didn’t hear anything else, didn’t hear his crying or his silent screaming, didn’t hear the clock on the wall or the click of the door when Anthea came out. He could only hear his heart pounding and when Anthea got down to hold him he couldn’t hear her sobs or her screams, he could only feel the shaking of her shoulders and the way his shirt was dampening from her tears. He’s not sure how long they stayed that way, both of them too shocked with grief to say anything. By the time they got up the sun was already on its way down.

She extended the gun to him, she’d dropped it on the floor next to her when she came out “You have to hold it” she explained with a broken voce “Your fingerprints have to be in the gun so he knows you did it” he took the gun in shaking hands, it wasn’t the first time he held one but this one seemed heavier somehow. Anthea takes of the gloves and stashes them in her own suitcase, they both wait in silence for Ghetsis to arrive.

When he does arrive, the sun is long gone from the sky but there’s still enough light outside to see, he arrives with three white haired men behind him and Natural can feel Anthea tense up “So it was Concordia” Ghetsis comments, no greeting again. Natural still feels too shaken to speak but Anthea had said it had to be him confirming the death “Yeah” he says with the steadiest voice he can muster. Ghetsis only hums and walks towards the room where Concordia´s body was. Anthea and him wait patiently in the living room under the watchful eye of his father’s companions, once he gets back there’s a light smile on his face “A part of me was hoping this would be the case” he muses then motions to the men who immediately step closer and grab Anthea.

She protests and struggles until the men place a gag in her mouth and a black bag over her head before forcing her to kneel down on the floor “What are you doing?!” Natural asks alarmed turning to his father who seems unfazed by the whole thing “You really thought you could fool me Anthea?” the older man says approaching the woman, Naturals heart sinks “Fath-” the man turns to him and seems to freeze the boy on the spot with a single look “And you Natural, do you think this is a good way to start your life in the organization? Trying to deceive us?” N feels himself trembling, the nausea is coming back again. His father approaches him then “Now then, let’s correct this mistake why don’t we?” his father takes the gun from the table and offers it to Natural. The boy only looks at it, not sure what to do with the weapon. He turns to Anthea, trying to make out her expression through the bag, trying to read on her what he’s supposed to do “Don’t look at her boy, look at me” his father calls on his attention “If you had done things the right way from the beginning this wouldn’t be happening” Natural tries to hold his father’s gaze, he fights the fear that squeezes his heart and the instincts telling him to run; Ghetsis sighs “They taught you to fight and fend for yourself but it seems you’re still the coward you always were” Natural wants to protest but before he can do so his father pulls him out of the couch and places him in front of the kneeling Anthea, he then forces the gun on his hands and makes him to it against her forehead “No matter, we can fix that too right here, right now” Natural feels his father’s hands around his, molding them to fit the gun, pressing his finger against the trigger “Shoot Natural” his father instructs, but his heart is beating too fast, his stomach is turning again and the spinning in his head is not helping.

“I-I-“

“Shoot her!”

Anthea stays completely still now; her hands have been tied behind her back but Natural can hear the small sobs coming from inside the bag “What are you waiting for Natural? She broke our rules, this is what traitors who break our rules get” he feet his father press on his hands harder and another minute passed without anyone doing anything.

“Fine then” Ghetsis takes a step back from his son and asks one of his men for a gun.

He stands next to the woman and aims the weapon at her temple “If you won’t do it I will” he said looking straight at him “She’s going to die either way Natural, I’m just being kind to you by letting you benefit from her death, so you can join me in the Castelia” words that were meant to be encouraging only made Natural more scared. Still he could not look away from his father “You’re being selfish Natural, you’re prolonging her death, making her suffer more than she needs to, all you need to do is pull that trigger” Ghetsis voice sounded earnest by the second, restless and Natural could feel his hand trembling “Her death is inevitable, you’re just dragging this on for her because you’re too scared to be the executioner!” Ghetsis pressed the gun barrel against her, he was hurting her “They worked so hard all these years for you, so you could come back to the city with me. Is this how you repay them? You think you can’t do it because you love her but you’re just being selfish. A coward and selfish boy.”

Concordia had been right. It was over quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got real dark real fast and even tho I did not mean it I still loved it.


End file.
